


I Knew It Was You

by MissHesterMofet



Category: Enchanted (2007)
Genre: F/F, but he is basically a throw away, just saying, like Nancy was in the movie, mentions of Robert - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-07-10 02:15:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15939689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissHesterMofet/pseuds/MissHesterMofet
Summary: What would have happened to Giselle if she had fell into Nancy Tremaine's arms instead of Robert's?





	1. All Stories Have a Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Erica_Bain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erica_Bain/gifts).



> This fic was legit just a gift for my gf but I wanted to share it with the internet as well. Thank you, erica_bain for being my editor and inspiring me to write this.
> 
> UPDATE: Went through and updated the inner thoughts and emphasis with italics where it belongs. Also wanted to say rated M for future chapters.

Nancy Tremaine sighed as she brought her mind back to the present. She was in a meeting with her top designers, again, discussing tomorrow’s pitch to Broadway’s finest old-school production team, Cecil and Colleen Duke, again, going through the script with a fine-tooth comb... _again._ She had been preparing for weeks to get the pitch absolutely right, but at this point, she felt like her team was just recycling the same bullshit over and over without actually improving anything. As one of the top Broadway designers in Manhattan, she was confident in her ability to make the pitch tomorrow go off without a hitch.  
  
Nancy smiled vaguely at the accidental rhyme.  
  
“Okay, guys,” Nancy sat up straighter and gathered her sketchbooks and research. “I think it’s time we call it a night. I will see you all in the morning bright and early before the Dukes get here.”  
  
The room sighed and grumbled about various things but left for the night quickly, leaving just Nancy and her personal assistant, Anna, who was usually flitting around making sure she didn’t forget this meeting or that lunch and such.  
  
Nancy finally turned off the light in her office with another sigh. It had been a long week — a long month really, and yet she still had one more day to go before she could reach the weekend.  
  
“So, did you hear the news about the Dukes?” Anna asked her in the voice that told Nancy that she had some juicy and/or tragic gossip to share.  
  
Nancy found herself becoming a little nervous, but continued to pack up, “Nooo…what’s up with them now?”  
  
“Word on the street is Colleen Duke will be Colleen Nadoolman again. Apparently she and Cecil have been rocky for the past three years, and Cecil tried to take the production company and leave. But Colleen wouldn’t let him,” Anna’s already fast-paced tone picked up speed as she followed Nancy out of her office and down the hall. “I mean it _is_ illegal if he were to cut her out and leave her with nothing since they did start it together — so it’s gotta be in their prenup somewhere...right? But needless to say, they’re in a _huge_ battle right now over every single thing. I heard the other day that they were fighting over a signed rookie baseball card or something. Can you imagine?”  
  
“Well...yea, I could. In today’s world? People are lucky to divorce peacefully.”  
  
“And after saying _that_ , you still want Robert to propose to you?” Anna asked incredulously.  
  
Another short sigh left the tall brunette’s lips.  
  
“The Dukes got married on a crazy, romantic whim after rutting around backstage all the time. It’s not like that with Robert and I,” Nancy heard Robert recite a similar mantra all the time. Sometimes she even thought she truly believed it.  
  
“Right. None of that crazy romantic stuff for you guys, huh?”  
  
Nancy smirked at her assistant, seeing her point but feeling too tired to deal with the implications. Further to that thought, her aching feet refused the option of taking the subway home, so she decided to splurge on a cab. As she waited for the office suite’s doorman to hail her one, she finally had a response for Anna, “Oh, come on. I mean, we’re rational. We understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”  
  
Anna scoffed, “Wait, what? Sounds more like building a bridge than a relationship.”  
  
Nancy didn’t even dignify that with a response as the doorman waved her over to take the next cab.  
  
Anna continued, “I wonder if he is going to talk to Morgan about this first.”  
  
“Of course he is,” Nancy was reassuring herself just as much as she was reassuring Anna. “Listen, I’m tired and want to go home to get a good night’s rest before tomorrow. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”  
  
“Barring any mishaps..”  
  
“Don’t jinx it, Anna,” Nancy stepped off the curb, pointing at her assistant in warning mode.  
  
“Bye!” Anna chirped before flitting off toward the nearest tunnel.  
  
As they cruised through downtown, Nancy’s thoughts turned towards Robert. She hadn’t allowed herself to think seriously about their status for a while for fear that she might discover something she didn’t want to know. She knew he had been hurt before by Morgan’s mother and wasn’t a fan of “lovey-dovey” things, as he called it. But he had been particularly standoffish lately. They hadn’t had sex in over a month, and Nancy’s body was really starting to take notice. If she had done anything to warrant this treatment from him, she couldn’t possibly recollect it. As she continued to fall down the rabbit hole of her anxious mind, her thoughts took an even darker turn  
  
_I hope something changes soon, even if it’s for the worst. It’s been five years._  
  
Nancy hated this stagnant place their relationship had come to. Once you’re past 35, you start to see time and relationships differently. Especially as a woman, she didn’t have time to waste if a family was to be part of her future. It’s not that she felt the need to get hitched immediately or even expected to — she just needed to know what direction they were going. If she needed to move on, she totally could.... _right?_  
  
Nancy shook herself out of those thoughts. Her work week must be taking more of a toll than she initially realized. She should be focusing on the positives, like having the privilege of a lovely little girl, Morgan, in her life to watch grow up these past five years.  
  
When she and Robert first started dating, Morgan had been a feisty one-year-old that Robert was having a hard time raising by himself. Truth be told, it was a learning experience for them both. But they got through the terrible twos, and the threes for that matter without too much of a struggle. She had hoped that as Morgan got older, she would bond with Nancy more. But it seemed the older Morgan got, the more she saw Nancy as one of those evil stepmothers from one of her fairytale books Santa or Grandma always seemed to bring her. You’d think by now she would have them all...  
  
She pulled out her cell phone after a thought struck her.  
  
“Hey, it’s me,” she nearly whispered.  
  
“Yeah, hi,” Robert answered dully.  
  
_Okay then._  
  
“What do you say I take Morgan to school tomorrow for some grown-up girl-bonding time”  
  
“Tomorrow morning would be great. 7:30?”  
  
“Yea that time works for me. Are you with her now?” Nancy asked, hoping to have the chance to talk to Morgan directly. One thing remembered for sure is that children hated being talked down to or treated like they weren’t their own person.  
  
“With her now? Yes, let me call you later,” Robert sounded distracted and distant again.  
  
“Okay...I guess I’ll be waiting for your call,” Nancy’s voice fell.  
  
“All right. Bye-bye.”  
  
“Bye then. I love-” Nancy didn’t get a chance to finish that thought as Robert hung up and the line went dead. She sighed...again. She never imagined making plans to take Morgan to school would somehow cause him additional stress. All she wanted was to start sharing more parenting responsibilities and make Morgan see that she wasn’t that bad. Truth be told, why she had to convince her of that in the first place was beyond her. It’s not like she’s some strange woman who just fell in their laps suddenly.  
  
While those thoughts were chasing themselves around in her head, Nancy stared out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of stars in the night sky. As usual, the light pollution was making that very difficult.  
  
Just when she was really starting to feel despondent, the cabbie stopped at another red light and something unusual caught Nancy’s gaze. A woman in a full six-hoop wedding dress was knocking on the Palace Casino billboard Nancy always thought was tacky.  
  
As the cabbie eased off the break, his bold brunette passenger yelled, “Stop!”  
  
Nancy heard herself say the word, but she couldn’t quite believe her ears. At first, she thought the woman she spotted must be a mannequin, but there was no way someone would make that gorgeous dress for a shitty casino advertisement, even if they somehow could afford all that fabric She felt herself unlatching the door and hopping out of the car, ignoring the cabbie’s protests and tossing him an extra $10.  
  
As she approached the towering billboard, she thought she heard the woman say,“Oh, please be home...”  
  
Did she really think that gaudy thing was an actual castle? She must have hit her head, rendering herself delusional. This woman clearly needed a hospital.  
“Excuse me...miss? Are you okay?” Nancy shouted out.  
  
“Oh, hello. I was wondering if maybe you - Whoa!”  
  
The woman lost her balance on the billboard, causing her to slip. She was hanging onto the edge, but it didn’t look like her tiny grip would hold out for much longer.  
  
“Hang on!” Nancy shouted again.  
  
“Oh!”  
  
“Don’t let go!” Nancy felt totally helpless and had no idea what to do, but knew she needed to act fast.  
  
“Just hang on! I’m calling for help,” Nancy took out her phone, eyes never leaving the dangling woman.  
  
Just as she was about to dial 9-1-1, the woman’s grasp slipped and she was falling. Before Nancy could even think, she jumped forward to catch the woman, who proceeded to land right on top of her. If the woman had on normal clothes, it probably wouldn’t have been so bad. However, the dress’s copious material and the hoops underneath made it feel like Nancy had just been attacked by a wonderful smelling sack of flour.  
  
_Wait. Why am I smelling this woman?_  
  
She did smell good though, and it was hard not to notice when her dress swallowed Nancy whole like a beautiful white wave.  
  
_Nancy. Focus._  
  
“Are you okay?” Nancy distracted herself from her concerning thoughts by assessing the damage.  
  
“I’m fine,” the woman climbed off of Nancy and stood up. Nancy soon followed, brushing herself off.  
  
“What were you doing up there?” Nancy looked up at the woman, truly noticing her for the first time.  
  
_Big mistake. Huge._  
  
This woman was strikingly gorgeous. Nancy wasn’t usually into redheads, but this one looked so soft that Nancy had to clench her fists to keep from touching her.  
  
“I was looking for some help you see, I’ve been wandering very far and long tonight, and I’m afraid nobody’s been very nice to me...”  
  
The woman seemed genuinely upset, as if she had never experienced someone being unkind to her before. It was kind of cute...  
  
_Nancy!_  
  
Her inner self had resorted to using the rough tone she reserved for underlings who stepped out of line.  
  
She finally settled on responding,“Yeah well, welcome to New York, honey.”  
  
“Thank you!” The woman exclaimed in the most genuine tone imaginable.  
  
_So sarcasm doesn’t really register with this woman...noted._  
  
“Okay…well are you sure you’re alright? Do you need me to call someone for you?” Nancy shook her arm out, nursing an elbow that was probably bruised.  
  
“Oh, I don’t think they’d hear you from here,” The strange woman said as if Nancy was a bit thick in the head. Somehow, even when vaguely insulting her intelligence, the woman did so in the sweetest way.  
  
_“What?”_ Nancy just couldn’t believe the woman standing next to her in the fairy princess get-up thought she was somehow the dense one.  
  
An ominous crack of thunder sounded and the two women looked to the sky. As Nancy brought her gaze back down, she noticed her cell phone was there on the ground — broken.  
  
_Well, that’s just great._  
  
“How about we get out of this storm and you can sort your life out in the comfort of a dry place?” Nancy found herself offering.  
  
Surprisingly, the cabbie was still waiting for her at the corner, and they headed towards it. The woman — Giselle, she soon learned — prattled away about her life story and some dude named Edward. It took some effort, but somehow they managed to get her and the dress into the car. Nancy pushed her way in, feeling as though the dress was actively trying to consume her, and asked the cabbie to finish the rest of the journey to Nancy’s apartment. It must have been quite the sight, the two of them in the back of the cab together. What with Giselle chattering on about her delusions as if she was actually in another land not even a few hours ago.  
  
Once the car started moving, the woman let out a high-pitched princess yelp and grabbed Nancy’s arm as she snapped out of her story, “What’s happening? Is this magic? Where are the horses for this carriage?”  
  
Nancy was truly and completely bewildered, “Um...this is a car.”  
  
“What’s a car?”  
  
Nancy and the cabbie made faces of disbelief to each other in the rear view mirror.  
  
_Seriously - what is this woman on??_  
  
Finally, she settled on playing along, “It’s a vehicle that takes you where you want to go.”  
  
“Sort of like a magic carpet?”  
  
“Sure,” Nancy turned toward the window as Giselle continued speaking about a place named Andalasia. Nancy certainly had never heard of a place like that before, but the world was large and ever-changing, after all.  
  
They soon arrived at Nancy’s place and continuously struggled with getting Giselle in and out of each doorway they encountered.  
  
“And then, the old hag told me to — oh!” Giselle exclaimed as she popped out of the elevator on Nancy’s floor. She was really going to have to stop gasping semi-sexually like that for the sake of Nancy’s health.  
  
“Sorry,” As a designer, Nancy really did feel bad the dress continued to rip with each new obstacle, but was getting very tired of the whole tedious process. Her days as a backstage dresser were long over.  
  
“— look into the well and wish for my heart’s desire, but I must have looked very far because I fell down, down, down, and then I climbed out of this big, round hole and I got very lost until I fell off the castle and now here I am with you!”  
  
Giselle pointed with both of her hands toward Nancy, who had just heard the longest run on sentence of her life.  
  
“Is this a big habit of yours? Falling off of stuff?” Nancy quipped.  
  
“Well, usually someone catches me,” she responded in thought.  
  
“Ah,”  
  
_Of course — silly me; I should have known. But to be fair, I was there to catch her..._  
  
“But! Not to worry, I’m certain Edward is already searching for me. No doubt by morning, he’ll come and rescue me from this strange land, take me home and the two of us can share in True Love’s Kiss.”  
  
At this point, they had reached Nancy’s apartment, and the very tired brunette started fumbling with her keys.  
  
“You know, you don’t have to wait around for some guy to come and rescue you always. Or for ‘true love’s kiss’.”  
  
She continued to fumble with her keys as Giselle replied in an earnest and nearly breathless voice, “It’s the most powerful thing in the world!”  
  
“Right.”  
  
_This woman is very distracting._  
  
“Now, if I could only find a place to rest my head for the night...” Giselle began.  
  
Nancy did not like the sound of that, so she quickly asked, “What kind of place?”  
  
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a nearby meadow, or a hollow tree.”  
  
“A hollow tree?”  
  
Nancy could not for the life of her find her damn house key, between Giselle’s confusing words and her odd hand placements in the air as if she were perpetually holding something daintily.  
  
“Or a house full of dwarves. I hear they’re very hospitable.”  
  
Putting aside her continued confusion, Nancy reiterated, “Like I said all I can really do is let you in for a minute, dry off, use a phone if you want. I have to get up very early tomorrow.” She finally got the right key and opened her door before heading in.  
  
“That’s very kind of you.”  
  
Giselle got stuck once more in the doorway, this one proving to be the most difficult yet. Nancy watched in wonder as Giselle grew frustrated for the first time since they’d met. She huffed in the cutest way possible.  
  
_Oh my God, Nancy. Knock it off. This woman is crazy —_ not cute.  
  
She hastily tried to distract herself for the third time that night.  
  
“What is it with this dress of yours?”  
  
“Oh, do you like it?”  
  
“Well, it’s exquisite. Just impractical for walking around New York.”  
  
“I gathered the silk from my silkworm friends and I spun it into thread on my spinning wheel.”  
  
Nancy had started assisting in tugging Giselle through the door, trying not to look at her cleavage on broad display, which was bouncing with each tug Nancy gave her arms. But when Giselle’s words registered with her, she stopped in her tracks.  
  
“You made this yourself? _Including_ the silk thread?” Nancy’s designer heart was beginning to palpitate.  
  
“Well, the mice and rabbits did help with the sewing.”  
  
Again, Nancy simply shook away her confusion as they continued struggling with the dress. Nancy decided she needed a hard drink and responded the only way she knew how — with sarcasm and unfiltered truth.  
  
“They’re good.”  
  
_After all, even if woodland creatures made this goddamn dress, they deserve an award._  
  
Two tugs later, Nancy once again found herself under a pile of silk and Giselle. Honestly, a few years back, this could have been an average Saturday night for Nancy.  
Giselle giggled at their predicament.  
  
Nancy sighed with a muffled suggestion, “Why don’t we see about getting you a car?”  
  
She collapsed the hoops for Giselle and brought them in vertical to fit through the door and smirked.  
  
_You’d think I’d have thought of that before._  
  
Nancy went into the other room looking for the cab company’s number in the phonebook. She tried to remember the last time she used her landline as Giselle sat on the couch looking around her. It was the first time the little redhead had been silent since they had met. In that short amount of time, Nancy had sort of enjoyed listening to Giselle’s weird stories. So she opted to break the silence.  
  
“So, you’re a princess, huh? What’s that like?”  
  
_Honestly — why am I feeding into this woman’s delusions?_  
  
“Oh, I’m not a princess yet, but I will be soon.”  
  
Nancy dialed the number and they immediately picked up, “Yes, I’d like a cab.”  
  
She was placed on hold, and as she waited, she went into the kitchen to pour herself a single malt scotch from a new bottle. She called out to Giselle, continuing their conversation, “Oh? And when’s that gonna be?”  
  
Several beats, and no response.  
  
_That’s strange..._  
  
Nancy wandered back into the main living space and found Giselle sleeping on her couch.  
  
“Oh no. That is not acceptable.”  
  
As much as the strange woman intrigued her, she simply couldn’t let a crazy woman crash in her apartment... _right?_  
  
She gently shook Giselle a couple of times with no response, and then stepped back to take stock of her life. Nancy reached out and brushed her hand along the dress’s larger than 80s style shoulder poof. Her own gentleness surprised her, and she snatched her hand away as if Giselle was going to wake up and bite her hand off. She looked so peaceful and beautiful lying there with her hands tucked under her head.  
  
_I mean, she doesn’t seem to be a threat thus far..._  
  
“Location and destination please,” the guy on the phone finally picked up, Nancy out of her thoughts.  
  
“Actually, I’ve changed my mind.” Nancy didn’t give the guy a chance to respond before hanging up and walking back into the kitchen. She downed her glass and brought the bottle with her to her bedroom.  
  
After a quick shower, she got settled for the night in her locked bedroom. She had located and brought in her cat, Lucy, who had barricaded herself in the hamper to hide from the stranger. She decided to spoil herself a bit and put on her favorite pair of pajamas, a black silk top with spaghetti straps with a pair of matching shorts that barely covered her ass. She was sitting up in her bed with her glass of scotch, her favorite pencils, her sketchbook, and glasses perched on her nose. She would often stay up late, sketching new designs or fixing old ones. Tonight, Giselle’s dress had inspired her.  
  
She quickly got into her zone where she didn’t even have to think; her hands just drew without Nancy having to fully concentrate. Some of her best work was made during what her employees called “Tremaine Trances.” As her hands moved effortlessly, she thought of Giselle. Her mind kept going back to the fact that she had literally just met the woman, but she felt like she had some sort of duty to protect her. It was a far cry from the usual New York City detachment in a place so big and busy that one doesn’t have the time to care about much of anything outside of one’s own world.  
  
Before she knew it, she had finished half of the bottle of scotch and had three new designs in her sketchbook. She might have overdone it slightly...  
  
“That’ll do for tonight. Don’t you think, Lucy?”  
  
The cat purred in response as Nancy placed the empty glass on her bedside table and the bottle on the floor, turning off the light. She didn’t bother with cleaning up her bed. She just kind of pushed everything over to the side, planning to clean it up in the morning.  
  
As Nancy slipped into sleep, she found herself thinking of Giselle once more and wondering what the crazy universe had in store for them tomorrow.


	2. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giselle wakes up in the new land and already creates trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always thank you to my editor erica_bain for being patient with me.
> 
> This story is basically finished however I do have a job that keeps me severely busy so the formatting might take a little while for me to get through. But I will try my best to go through it quickly.

Nancy had been having a great dream that she didn’t quite remember. Something about a gasping redhead and repressed lesbian tendencies...  
  
She was trying to figure it out when her brain registered what had woken her up: a plate breaking, followed by Lucy yowling and scratching at the locked door, desperate to get out.  
  
Nancy let her out and followed the frantic cat toward the living room. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It seemed like all the rats and pigeons in Manhattan were in her apartment… _cleaning??_ She was snapped out of her stupor by a one-legged pigeon snatching up a cockroach two feet from her bare foot.  
  
“Oh my God! Get out!” She hurried around the apartment sweeping off cockroaches from various surfaces with a broom and trying not to gag while grabbing pigeons before throwing them out the open windows.  
  
“Lucy! NO!”  
  
Lucy had a squirming mouse between her teeth that she then dropped at Nancy’s admonishment. Nancy hurried to the front door and swung it open, planning to herd everything else out the door. With the chaos that broke out inside, the animals seemed more than willing to exit post-haste in a semi-orderly fashion.  
  
Nancy stood there in her silk pajamas with her chest heaving, feeling the adrenaline pulsing through her veins from the surprising amount of effort it took to chase the vermin out of her apartment. In the silence, she could hear melodic and cheerful singing and the shower running down the hall.  
  
“What the hell...” Nancy once again could not believe her ears as she walked down the hallway. Every second around this woman was stranger than the previous one. She knocked on the door of the bathroom as a courtesy. “Hello?”  
  
“Come in,” Giselle called out from the shower.  
  
Nancy opened the door. Whatever she was going to say died on her lips with the first syllable at the sight in front of her. Giselle was stepping out of the shower with no concern for modesty as two pigeons airlifted in a towel, covering her nakedness perfectly with every lithe twist of her body.  
  
Nancy heard Giselle greet her, but couldn’t make out the words exactly for she was distracted by the pigeons flying away after they wrapped the towel around her. Of course, it didn’t help much that this beautiful woman was standing in front of her in only a towel and her skin was literally glistening. Her prominent collarbones and perfect boobs were just barely peeking out from the top of the towel and —  
  
“Oh! I hope you had nice dreams,” Giselle’s words had finally made contact with Nancy’s brain.  
  
“I think I’m still in one,” Nancy said in a daze. Come to think of it, this truly did resemble her dream from that morning. It was all coming back to her now in embarrassing detail.  
  
“This is a magical room,” Giselle paused in her wonder. “Where does the water come from?”  
  
Nancy was grateful she had something else to focus on because now, Giselle was letting her immaculate, long auburn hair down. Nancy felt a familiar coil pulling deep in her pelvis...one she hadn’t felt this deeply in a while, now that she thought about it...  
  
She turned away from Giselle to turn off the water when a thought hit her.  
  
_Oh shit...I’m supposed to be answering her question...have I been staring for too long?? She doesn’t understand social cues anyway right? What was the question anyway...something about the water..._  
  
“Uh, the water comes from the pipes.”  
  
“And where do the pipes get it?”  
  
_Think, Nancy!_  
  
“Uh, I don’t know. From, uh, wherever the pipes get it from.”  
  
_Smooth, Tremaine. Very smooth..._  
  
Giselle seemed happy enough with that response though, “Oh. It is magical!”  
  
Nancy just stared in disbelief and wonder once more at this woman. It’s like she was in a whole new world and learning everything for the first time.  
  
_She’s so fucking cute._  
  
Nancy was so caught up in Giselle’s eyes that she didn’t take note of the angry knocking from down the hall. She did, however, notice that she was partially standing in a puddle of cold water. The twitterpated brunette grabbed the hand towel from the rack and crouched down to clean up the mess. She vaguely heard Giselle saying something about her friends cleaning it up.  
  
Just as Nancy was standing, Giselle sang an odd melody that sounded so natural on her lips it was most likely her theme song, or maybe even a mating call. Sure enough, the pigeons who gave Giselle her towel answered the call, flying at Nancy’s head and knocking her off balance. She flew backwards, attempting to grab for the door frame but instead, her desperate hands conveniently grabbed Giselle by the waist.  
  
Thus, for the third time in less than 24 hours, Giselle was on top of Nancy, and this time definitely involved the least amount of clothing. The absurdity of the situation combined with Giselle’s cute laugh made Nancy chuckle in spite of herself. It was then that Nancy felt Giselle grind her pelvis into her.  
  
_Holy. Shit._  
  
Nancy had stopped laughing.  
  
_Did she just do that on purpose? There’s no way._  
  
And that’s when she noticed a figure out of the corner of her eye and whipped her head around instantly.  
  
“Robert?!” She saw him standing there looking back and forth between the two women as though they were locked in an epic tennis match. Lucy was casually cleaning her paw behind him as if this sort of thing happened every day.  
  
“Oh, hello!” Giselle called out to him.  
  
Robert pointed at the barely covered redhead, “Who is this?”  
  
Panic in her voice, Nancy blurted, “This is nothing.”  
  
Giselle scrambled off Nancy toward Robert like a puppy, holding her hand out to offer a shake and going straight into her spiel. “Oh! I’m Giselle. I was on my way to the castle to get married — ”  
  
Meanwhile, Nancy scrambled up after repeating more frantically in between Giselle’s ramblings, “This is nothing. This is nothing! Robert, this is nothing.”  
  
“She’s married?” Robert asked harshly.  
  
“No! She’s not,” Nancy grabbed Giselle and pushed her away from Robert against the wall. “Not yet.”  
  
“What does that mean: ‘Yet?’”  
  
Nancy used her calming voice, “Robert — she was lost, I was just trying to help her.”  
  
“With what? Finding the shower?”  
  
“No! I —”  
  
Giselle cut in, “The shower! The shower is wonderful, Robert!”  
  
“Oh, I’m sure,” Robert responded sarcastically.  
  
“Okay, thank you,” Nancy pushed Giselle away again. “That’s enough.”  
  
Robert had turned, heading toward the door while Nancy chased after him, reaching for his arm.  
  
“Please calm down and let’s talk about this,” Nancy nearly begged.  
  
”Talk about what, Nancy? How you didn’t answer my calls? How I never stay the night because we both agreed I should go home to Morgan and we have to maintain boundaries and I thought, ‘I’m so lucky. She understands my responsibilities!’ I didn’t realize you were worried about crowd control.”  
  
“Robert, my phone broke last night,” Nancy was getting desperate.  
  
He ignored her, pursuing the door again with Nancy hot on his heels.  
  
“We’ll talk later,” Nancy was trying to reach him in any way she could at this point.  
  
“Don’t bet on it,” he opened the door.  
  
“What about Morgan and grown-up girl-bonding time?” Nancy took one last shot.  
  
“What, and interrupt this grown-up girl-bonding time? I don’t think so,” He looked towards Giselle sarcastically. “Besides, since you didn’t answer any of my calls this morning, I took her to school on the way here. I came to check on you since I was worried. I didn’t realize you were so well taken care of.”  
  
Robert headed out the door as Nancy continued to try refuting his ideas, but he cut her off with the door in her face as Giselle said cheerfully, “Good-bye!”  
  
Nancy slumped her shoulders in defeat.  
  
“Oh, he is charming,” Giselle stated from her place on the wall that Nancy stuck her.  
  
She ignored the comment, unsure if she was being sarcastic or not. Lucy meowed and wound between Nancy’s legs and Giselle’s. Nancy briefly considered breaking down before abruptly pulling herself away from her own pity party and racing after Robert.  
  
_Isn’t this what people are supposed to do when they’re in love?_  
  
But by the time she reached the bottom floor and made it outside, she found him getting into a cab across the street, barking directions at the driver.  
  
She called out, “Robert, wait!”  
  
She felt like a fool calling out to a man in her pajamas and no shoes on the streets of New York. That embarrassment fueled her anger as she headed back to her apartment on the top floor to somehow get ready for the day ahead. But first, she had a problem to take care of. She had temporarily forgotten that Giselle was, in fact, a problem, but she was indeed a big problem that only seemed to get bigger.  
  
When she made it to her apartment, Nancy noticed for the first time that morning just how clean it was.  
  
_Who knew that rats were so good at cleaning?_  
  
She shook her head clear of the distraction and pounded on the bathroom door once more.  
  
“Hello,” Giselle called out.  
  
“Listen, honey, you gotta go…I don’t know what your deal is, if you’re waiting for Prince Charming —”  
  
Giselle interrupted, “Prince Edward!”  
  
“Whatever, I’ll get you a bus, a train, a plane, wherever and then that’s it! I can’t get involved after that.”  
  
Giselle came out of the bathroom almost prancing. Nancy paused her pacing, following Giselle into the living room. She was about to lay down the law with Giselle again before she paused, noticing the new hairstyle and dress that Nancy hadn’t seen before. She indicated the dress, “What is this? I don’t recognize it as one of mine from my closet.”  
  
“I made it. Do you like it?” Giselle piped out. Nancy looked closer at the dress. It looked like one of the sketches she made last night with a twist to it that Nancy couldn’t quite place. Then she realized that the dress was made from some very expensive bolts of fabric she brought home the other day.  
  
Giselle must have noticed Nancy’s eyes turning to slits and her breathing becoming heavier as she tried to control her temper.  
  
Her innocent little face fell, “You’re unhappy.”  
  
“You made a dress out of my nice, expensive fabrics _and_ you stole one of my designs?” Nancy asked incredulously.  
  
“Oh, you are unhappy. I am so sorry...”  
  
Nancy clenched her jaw and brought down her voice, “I’m not unhappy. I’m angry.”  
  
Giselle’s face went from sad to confused, _“Angry?”_  
  
“Yes. It’s an unpleasant emotion. Ever heard of it?”  
  
“I have heard of it. But I —”  
  
_Great, she doesn’t understand rhetorical questions either._  
  
Nancy interrupted, “You have created a completely unnecessary problem with Robert that I now have to resolve. See, the fact is, I’m pretty sure he was just about to take a very serious step forward. He was going to propose.”  
  
Giselle perked right up and clapped, “Oh!”  
  
Nancy continued, “Yeah, but now he has it in his mind that you and I —”  
  
Nancy reached for an appropriate word for a woman who didn’t know what anger was.  
  
Giselle gasped and covered her mouth, finishing Nancy’s sentence for her, “Kissed?”  
  
Nancy lost some steam in the face of her continued innocence and just sighed, “Yeah... something like that.”  
  
“Oh no,” Giselle slumped and then immediately perked up, “You should sing to him!”  
  
Nancy took up her pacing once more, “Sing to him?”  
  
“Maybe that would reassure him of your affections. You need to rush to his side and hold him in your arms and then pour your heart out in a _beautiful ballad.”_  
  
She had rushed at Nancy, illustrating what she meant by pressing her back into Nancy’s front and placing the brunette’s hands on her flat stomach, dangerously close to her breasts. Before Nancy could fully process the touch, Giselle had twirled around in her arms as she sang the last phrase, complete with frilly hand movements. Nancy couldn’t resist putting her hands on Giselle’s waist as she turned into Nancy’s arms. She was just so warm and soft and right in Nancy’s bubble. She kept her hands there as she moved to Giselle’s side a bit to look her in the face.  
  
Giselle continued, “And then he’ll know for sure.”  
  
Nancy was trying to figure out where the hell this sweet, innocent woman had come from, and how said woman made Nancy feel warm all over.  
  
“Why are you staring at me?” Giselle suddenly asked.  
  
“I don’t know. It’s like you escaped from a Hallmark card or something.” Nancy was increasingly distracted by the elegant, intricate way Giselle moved and positioned her hands.  
  
_I wonder how they would feel...Girl, you better stop that train of thought before it even leaves the station!_  
  
“Is that a bad thing?” Giselle asked, worried.  
  
Nancy shook her head and turned toward Lucy, who was crying for food. Somehow that mundane occurrence snapped Nancy back to reality.  
  
“Work! I’m late! The Dukes! I’ve got to run,” Nancy sprinted to get dressed, praying for a miracle to save her pitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and constructive criticism helps me grow as an artist so feel free to leave some! :)


	3. When It All Comes Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's "Take Your Princess to Work" Day apparently at Nancy's design studio. Let's see how that turns out ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have 10 chapters of this fic already written, edited, and polished. I just need to format them for AO3 as previously stated. 
> 
> However, I am thinking of doing a bonus chapter at the end. So I'll decide once I get there if I should or not.
> 
> Thank you to erica_bain for always adding spiciness to my fics while you edit :)

Nancy saw no other choice but to bring Giselle with her to work. It’s not like she could leave her at the apartment alone; she had almost shocked herself twice with the hairdryer while Nancy was trying to quickly brush her teeth and get ready. Plus, she had seen _Elf _. She was going to skip the “constantly calling” step and go straight to “bring her so she could keep an eye on her” step. That’s how Nancy found herself walking into the building that held her shop near 38th and 7th with her hand on Giselle’s back to keep her from wandering away as she was wont to do.__  
  
When she first leased the place near Times Square, she hated dealing with the tourists and the traffic like any real New Yorker. But as time passed, Nancy fell in love with the history and culture surrounding her every day. There was the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and, her favorite, the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, which was the flagship of New York’s Public Library. With its iconic stone lions and promise of adventure inside, it just meant “home” to her.  
  
As Nancy pressed the button for the elevator, she realized Giselle was not by her side anymore. She walked back to the lobby of the building frantically looking for Giselle and found her staring at one of those random statues New York had in abundance. This one was of a portly naked woman. Nancy had no time for this.  
  
“What are you looking at?” she asked in a rush.  
  
“She’s beautiful,” Giselle was transfixed on this statue; completely detached from the world around her.  
  
“It’s a statue,” Nancy bit out. She grabbed Giselle’s hand and pulled her back to the elevators. It was a bit like walking a puppy who continually got distracted and wanted to go _that_ way.  
  
During the elevator ride up, Nancy had to continue to hold Giselle’s hand to keep her from pressing all of the buttons, just like _Elf_ , and to just hold her still. Had she not been so flustered, Nancy might have realized how hyper-aware every single atom of her body was when it came into contact with Giselle’s. Every time Giselle saw something new and grabbed for her with a gasp made Nancy’s heart involuntarily flutter just so.  
  
As the elevator doors opened, Nancy tugged Giselle behind her a little more forcefully than she meant to. She muttered, “Quickly. Come quickly.”  
  
She arrived at her offices’ front desk and called out to her assistant, “Anna? Anna, please do not tell me that the Dukes are already here.”  
  
Cecil Duke, or “the Duke of Broadway,” as some people called him, and his nearly ex-wife Colleen, were both prospective clients and highly respected Broadway producers. They had been shopping around for a fresh style for their latest production, and Nancy had been lucky enough to network her way to a connection with Mrs. Duke. Nancy and her team had studied the workshop notes and put together a modest collection of pieces, bearing in mind past productions the Dukes had worked on and throwing in her own ideas of what could be. Of course, the morning after a beautiful woman landed in her life and wildly complicated things would be the same morning of her big pitch to the Dukes.  
  
Anna replied, “Uh yea, the Dukes are already here.”  
  
Nancy let go of Giselle’s hand to slap it on the counter, “Great.”  
  
Anna waved her hand towards the other end of the studio, “As well as the director of their next production.”  
  
“Perfect,” Nancy felt herself getting more and more overwhelmed. She glanced at Giselle, who was looking down at the street below with her head pressed to the glass like a kid at the Empire State Building.  
  
“How long have they been waiting?”  
  
Anna responded with a squinch of her face as if to block the rage that might be thrown her way, “Do you really want to know?”  
  
“No. I don’t. I need you to handle something for me, okay?”  
  
Nancy motioned towards Giselle who was now dipping a cup into the office fish tank, “See this girl?”  
  
Anna nodded, “Yea, who is she?”  
  
“I have no idea,” Nancy’s tempo picked up. “I’m pretty sure she’s from out of town.”  
  
“Well, what do you want me to do about it?”  
  
“Find out where she’s from and get her there. And make sure it’s cheap because I’m going to have to pay for it.”  
  
Nancy started to get Giselle before she remembered one more thing, “Oh and if Robert calls me, I need to talk to him.”  
  
Nancy ran over to Giselle calling for her, “Giselle? Giselle! Don’t drink that.”  
  
She noticed Giselle had been drinking the aquarium water. She was so stressed she didn’t have time to even think of how gross that was. Nancy just grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back to Anna, “Giselle, I have a very important meeting right now. Anna here is going to get you home.”  
  
Anna had picked up the phone earlier, but put whoever it was on hold at the sound of her name.  
  
“Anna, this is Giselle. Giselle, this is Anna,” Nancy made the introduction only half paying attention as she mentally prepped her pre-pitch excuses.  
  
“Hi,” Anna said in her chipper way.  
  
“Stay out of trouble,” Nancy was about to hustle off when she noticed Giselle spit out a Betta fish into the cup she grabbed from the aquarium.  
  
“Oh…oh man,” Anna echoed Nancy’s stunned thoughts.  
  
“I really don’t have time for this,” Nancy ran away.  
  
_Is that her twisted way of telling someone she likes them?_  
  
She vaguely heard Giselle saying it was nice to meet Anna as well and Anna’s horrified yet polite response of, “It’s nice to meet you too.”  
  
Nancy could feel a migraine coming on already.  
  
\-----  
  
With the crazy start to her day, Nancy didn’t think she would be able to concentrate on the pitch, let alone deliver it well. But as she walked out of the small conference room in her studio with the Dukes and the director, she felt pretty good.  
  
“Well, I have to say I really think that went well. Despite Colleen’s attempts at being difficult,” Cecil Duke had said with a hint of surprise and a dash of spite.  
  
“The only one being difficult here is you. Who the hell takes issue with the type of pencils she used to draw the sketches? Regardless, I think we might be one step closer to making our final decision,” Colleen shot back, sounding pleased despite the bickering.  
  
They had been squabbling like this throughout the entire pitch. At first it was distracting, but like anything else, Nancy had adapted to it. She was overjoyed and about to respond back to Colleen when she noticed Anna waving her over frantically.  
  
“Excuse me, I’ll go call your cars for you,” she tried to remain cool on the outside, but she noticed Anna’s fake smile at the Dukes before talking hurriedly between her teeth.  
  
“She has no driver’s license. No passport. I can’t even find this place she comes from,” Anna finished with a snap.  
  
Nancy had been distracted looking at the woman in question, “What place?”  
  
“Andalusia.”  
  
Nancy brought her gaze back to Anna from its wandering state to correct her, “Andalasia.”  
  
Anna waved her hands, brushing the correction off, “Yeah, whatever. I’ve called every travel agent; every airline. I don’t know if it’s a country or a city.”  
  
“Well, it can’t be a state.”  
  
They both looked back to Giselle who was now spinning in a circle doing some sort of dance as she looked towards the ceiling with a goofy smile on her face.  
  
“More like a state of mind,” Anna cut in. “She told me it’s just beyond the Meadows of Joy,” here her voice poorly mimicked Giselle’s including hands delicately hovering in the air in front of her, “and the Valley of Contentment.”  
  
Anna’s face and voice cut to serious anger and Nancy brought her eyes back to look at her assistant in slight alarm, “I mean what is that all about?”  
  
Nancy looked over to Giselle once more, nearly unable to take her eyes off of her. She noticed that Giselle approached Colleen and was talking to her now.  
  
“Oh my Goodness. Your hair is lovely,” Giselle touched her hair. “You are beautiful.”  
  
Colleen stepped back with a sad look on her face, “Thank you.”  
  
“The man who holds your heart is a lucky fellow indeed.”  
  
“You try telling him that,” she snapped.  
  
Giselle blissfully said, “I’m sure he already knows.”  
  
“Excuse me,” Cecil harrumphed.  
  
“Are you him?” Giselle asked with a gasp as she floated over to the Duke of Broadway and grabbed the shorter man’s arm. “You are very lucky. I mean just look at the way her eyes sparkle. It’s no wonder you’re in love.”  
  
Giselle dropped her hand into Cecil’s hand and grabbed Colleen’s hand as well, swinging them back and forth with pure joy in her eyes as she looked to Nancy earnestly. Nancy finally noticed Anna slapping her arm to get her moving over there to intervene. She really needed to work on not staring at Giselle; it was becoming detrimental to her job.  
  
“I got it,” Nancy hurried over to Giselle, dragging her away from the Dukes while Giselle continued to smile up at her.  
  
“Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Duke. I’m sorry,” she hurriedly apologized before she turned to Giselle with a tight whisper. “Giselle, it’s not like that alright? They’re not together anymore.”  
  
“I don’t understand,” Giselle said in a normal tone as if they weren’t discussing two people less than ten feet away from them.  
  
“They are getting a divorce,” Nancy stated as she continued to whisper. “Separating from each other.”  
  
She nervously smiled at the Dukes as Giselle was stilling trying to figure it out, “Separating?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
Giselle looked toward them with concern as they looked back suspiciously, “For how long?”  
  
“Forever,” Nancy didn’t know how to soften the information and it was making her uncomfortable.  
  
Giselle snapped her head back to Nancy with the saddest face she had ever seen, “Forever and ever?”  
  
Nancy hushed Giselle who had raised her voice, but placed a comforting hand lightly on her shoulder before replying, “Yes, honey.”  
  
Giselle looked to the Dukes once more, “Oh no.”  
  
If possible, she looked even sadder than before as her face crumpled and her striking blue eyes welled up with tears.  
  
“What are you doing?” Nancy asked, mostly concerned about making a scene, but also for Giselle herself. “Don’t cry.”  
  
“Are you crying?” Cecil asked.  
  
“No, she’s not —” Nancy tried, but it was too late.  
  
Giselle gasped for air a bit as she held her tears at bay, “I’m sorry. I can’t help it.”  
  
“Is she actually crying?” the man asked again.  
  
“It’s just so sad,” Giselle kept hiccuping and gasping as she sat down.  
  
Colleen huffed and stumbled towards the exit, “What kind of operation are you running here? This is so unprofessional.”  
  
Just then Nancy’s publicist, Charlotte La Bouffe, walked up to the scene. She had gone to take a call after the pitch and was unaware of what had happened, “Colleen, you’re still —”  
  
Colleen walked out the door without even responding as the director interrupted Charlotte, “If you guys are trying to manipulate us, you can throw this whole deal out.”  
  
The Duke then followed the director out the door without saying a word.  
  
Charlotte turned toward Nancy, “What is going on here? Who in the Sam Hell is she?”  
  
When Charlotte got mad, her New Orleans accent and colorful phrases came out. Nancy discovered this the hard way on a couple of different occasions. Nancy looked at Giselle wishing to comfort her, but found herself stuck in the path of Charlotte’s famous wrath.  
  
“You begged me to join your team to help extend your reach. I get you the freaking Dukes and this is what I get for it?” Charlotte had crept into Nancy’s personal space. “I walk in here after a successful pitch to find everybody upset. And some girl is crying like we’re on Oprah.”  
  
Just then Giselle gasped a bit louder with another sob.  
  
“I’ll take care of it,” Nancy wasn’t sure where she got this confidence from since she didn’t have a clue how to fix this. But she needed to show everyone that she could do this, including herself. Having Giselle around was no longer an option.  
  
“Charlotte, it’s gonna be fine.”  
  
She smiled at her reassuringly as the heated Southern Belle stomped away. As soon as she was out of sight, Nancy latched onto Giselle’s arm again and led her toward the elevators.  
  
“What is wrong with you?” she whispered to Giselle.  
  
“Me?” Giselle questioned in return, clearly scandalized.  
  
“Yes, you!” Nancy pushed the button to call for the elevator. “This whole Kumbaya routine. Those people are in real pain.”  
  
“Well, of course they’re in pain. They’re separated forever! Married one day and the next day not...what sort of awful place is this?” Giselle asked in a breathless voice that reminded Nancy of Marilyn Monroe.  
  
_Those legs, though...Oh my God Nancy, shut up! This woman is a real problem affecting your life and — you’re thinking about her boobs now aren’t you? Damn it. You barely caught a glimpse of them this morning in that towel. Your towel. In your shower..._  
  
“Damn it,” Nancy burst out loud so suddenly it frightened Giselle, who had covered her ears like a child upon hearing the curse word.  
  
“Sorry,” she felt a little bad introducing Giselle to swear words, but she figured it was probably better than some of the stuff men have said to her on the street before.  
  
The elevator opened and Nancy answered Giselle’s earlier question about the world in which they lived.“Get in the elevator please. This is reality.”  
  
As they stepped in, Giselle pulled her arm away from Nancy with a pout, “Well, I think I’d prefer to be in Andalasia.”  
  
Nancy jabbed her finger at the Ground Floor button and stated bitterly, “I think I’d prefer that too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and constructive criticism feed my soul.


	4. Queer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to go back through and look at things from Giselle's POV.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that it has taken me so dang long, guys! I have been so busy and stressed from work. It's making my life a mess. I haven't bought groceries in like three weeks....
> 
> Anyway, here is the newest chapter!
> 
> Thanks as always to @erica_bain for being my editor and biggest fan.

_Back to the beginning..._

As Giselle was standing in the elevator on her way down with Nancy, she realized quickly that her last day in Andalasia was going to change her life. But even the wisest soothsayer couldn’t have possibly known just how much change was yet to come.  
  
She should have known something fishy was going on when she woke up that morning from a dream about the person she was supposed to fall in love with. Suddenly, she found herself replaying the morning in her mind to try to retrace her steps...  
  
She gazed upon the beautiful sapphire stones the bunnies gave her to represent the eyes of her True Love. But they were still too mundane to give justice to the life-size model she and her forest friends were building. The dream she had just woken up from was a blur. All she remembered seeing were striking eyes. They were a slate gray color on the outside that faded into a lighter green. But the features that really struck Giselle were the golden brown flecks that shot out sparingly from her True Love’s pupils.  
  
“These aren’t quite the color,” Giselle rejected the bunnies kindly. “But thank you for your help!”  
  
She turned to her best friend, a stout and feisty chipmunk,“Oh Pip, it was such a lovely dream! We were holding hands and dancing and—oh!” Giselle was pulled out of her reminiscing by a skunk that had come forward with a pair of stones from the bed of the nearby river. Mud had been splashed on them mimicking her True Love’s brown flecks perfectly.  
  
She grabbed the stones and held them up to the upside down vase that was serving as the head, “Oh how did you know what color their eyes were?The stones have the brown just like theirs!”  
  
She affixed the stones to the front of the face, “Okay there we go!”  
  
Giselle gasped, “Yes! That’s it!”  
  
Pip scampered off to join his animal friends as Giselle prepared herself for the big reveal.  
  
“Presenting, my one True Love, my Dream Come True...” Giselle turned the statue towards her friends. As she looked back towards the face, she noticed something was terribly wrong, “Oh my goodness! I didn’t give them any lips!”  
  
She proceeded to burst into song about the importance of lips for a certain special kiss. But before she knew it, a troll was chasing her up the tree her house resided in, and she promptly fell right into Prince Edward’s lap. Then together, they finished the song and rode off into the sunset.  
  
Giselle had barely slept the night before her wedding, since she was so excited and the dress had taken hours to build, even with the animals’ help.Then in the morning, in a carriage sent by Edward, she was off towards her Happily Ever After. But just as she was heading for the church, the old hag pushed her down the well. She had fallen and wandered so far in the new, strange and dirty land that she wasn’t sure what she would have done if Nancy hadn’t caught her.  
  
In the first moment they had met, Giselle had looked into Nancy’s eyes. After getting up and brushing herself off, she realized those eyes just felt familiar. Despite her gruffness with Giselle, Nancy had a good heart and a kind soul. Giselle knew upon seeing her eyes that she could trust Nancy and follow her lead. She figured if she was going to be stuck in this land until Edward rescued her, Nancy should know all about her. Sooner than she expected, they were at Nancy’s home.  
  
Giselle had such a long day that she had fallen asleep on Nancy’s couch. When she woke the next day, she noticed the mess in her home and decided to clean up for Nancy as a gesture of gratitude for letting her sleep there, even if it wasn’t as comforting as a hollow tree.  
  
While Giselle was singing in the shower, her thoughts first turned to Edward, of course. But under the magically flowing hot water, she found her thoughts gravitating toward Nancy quickly and involuntarily. Not only was Nancy good and kind for helping her, she was also quite beautiful in a striking way that Giselle was not used to seeing in her own world. All the Andalasian women had soft, round faces, but as she thought back to Nancy’s face, the features that stuck out were her high cheekbones, the sharp jaw, and beautiful eyes. Why, if they were in Andalasia, Giselle was certain that a royal would snatch her up if she wasn’t already born a royal herself. Perhaps she’d even be a Queen...  
  
Giselle was just finishing up in the magical room when she heard the subject of her thoughts knocking on the door. She loved when Nancy explained her curiosities in this new world to her. When Nancy stopped to explain something, she always had this look in her eyes as if Giselle was the most innocent thing she had ever encountered and yet her smile intimated that she still found Giselle full of promise. The petite princess-to-be found herself asking about things more than necessary just to see Nancy give her that look.  
  
Giselle had felt like a fool when her new animal friends knocked Nancy over. All she was trying to do was help! Then when she landed on the brunette, she didn’t feel anything...or maybe she felt everything all at once — maybe both. She couldn’t be certain. But she was indeed on top of Nancy, pressing her into the ground. Nancy’s warmth had radiated from her lower body and into the same parts of Giselle. As she giggled, looking into Nancy’s eyes again, she felt something in her soul pulling her willingly toward the woman. She had been pondering what that feeling meant exactly, but before she could figure it out, she felt a stronger, more physical pull. As Nancy’s hip bones dug into her, she felt a pull in her lower belly that she had never felt before at all. It was scary and wonderful all at once, but more importantly...  
  
She didn’t know what to do to get the feeling to stop.  
  
_“Maybe if I hold still...”_ Giselle had thought to herself.  
  
But her body had other plans, it seemed, and suddenly she felt her hips push into Nancy, apparently seeking friction of some sort. She didn’t get a chance to apologize though. At that moment, Nancy’s Robert showed up.  
  
Giselle observed that just when Nancy would start to loosen up, something or someone would come along and get her all tense and stressed again. First, Robert and their quarrel, and then the dress Giselle had made from some cloth she found lying around. Usually when she found spare cloth, it was a gift from a villager or an animal friend. She never saw it as of any consequence, but apparently it was in this land. She was trying to make up for her misstep when Nancy hurried off to go to what she called her “job,” but even the dwarves didn’t move that quickly to get to the mine...  
  
On the way to Nancy’s job, she saw two women together while they were waiting to cross the street. There was nothing too unique about them, but something made Giselle stare. Maybe it was the way they were looking at each other. Then one of them kissed the other full on the mouth.  
  
Giselle gasped, “Oh my!”  
  
Nancy was startled, “What? What is it?”  
  
Before Giselle could answer, Nancy followed her line of sight and smirked, “Ah, you don’t have queer people in Andalasia?”  
  
“Well, there are some queer people I suppose, but the queerest man in Andalasia wears his shoes on his hands.”  
  
Nancy sighed as the crosswalk turned green, “Oh boy...not queer as in strange. Queer as in...like...not straight.”  
  
Giselle was beginning to feel like Nancy was speaking in riddles to her.  
  
“I don’t understand.”  
  
“You know...queer. Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and other?”  
  
Giselle brought her forefingers and thumbs together, hovering them midair, a habit she had since she was a child. She was starting to get upset that she was letting Nancy down somehow.  
  
“Okay, forget all the big words I just threw at you. That might be too much right now. Let’s focus on lesbians. So basically it’s when a woman is romantically involved with someone who is also a woman.”  
  
“Oh! We have those in Andalasia! Two kingdoms over from Andalasia, Queen Regina rules the land. She actually married the daughter of her enemy, and now Princess Emma is sort of like her own personal knight in shining armour protecting the kingdom! It’s quite a long story. Once upon a time —” Giselle started.  
  
Nancy had cut her off, “Just come on.”  
  
And there was Nancy’s gruffness again as the magical sign told them to walk.  
  
Giselle chose to focus her attention elsewhere, and was still in awe of the tall buildings around her as Nancy led her along by her arm through the busy New York streets. Time passed so quickly that before Giselle knew it, they arrived at Nancy’s job, which had a beautiful glass box full of fish. It was there that Nancy introduced her to a fellow redhead named Anna. Giselle had been talking to the fish while Nancy and Anna whispered, and her new finned friends told her that they wanted out of the tank. But then, Nancy was introducing her to Anna, and of course, she couldn’t properly greet Anna with a fish in her mouth. So, she spit the single fish back into the cup she had grabbed from a nearby cart.  
  
It’s nice to meet you,” Giselle smiled at Anna.  
  
Personally, Giselle thought Anna had seemed a bit scared, though she couldn’t figure out why.  
  
After introductions, Nancy ran off to her job, and Anna asked her about Andalasia and where it was.  
  
“It’s just beyond the Meadows of Joy and the Valley of Contentment,” Giselle had stated.  
  
She had thought her directions were clear and straightforward, but Anna did not seem to understand. As she was waiting for Nancy to come back, Giselle wandered around the place. She saw beautiful cloths all around her, some made into gorgeous dresses of all kinds. She had asked one of the workers there where the mice were, but she only received another look of confusion.  
  
As she made her way in silence around the place a second time, Giselle thought about the two women earlier that morning. Just because Andalasia had — what had Nancy called them? Oh yes, “queer people,” didn’t mean she had seen any herself. After all, she had lived in the woods her whole life, so she didn’t encounter too many people in general. She wondered if True Love between women was somehow different than what existed between her and Edward. She couldn’t imagine how that would be, since they were kissing, and only people in True Love kissed. She had never seen Queen Regina and Princess Emma kiss, but she was sure it was a pleasant sight indeed.  
  
Giselle continued thinking about these things until she saw Nancy again. She had emerged from a room in the back, and Giselle noticed she looked more confident and sure of herself while at her job. Giselle headed to the front of the room, following Nancy with her eyes, unable to take them off of the brunette. Instantly, Giselle felt a flash of what she had felt atop Nancy’s body earlier that morning.  
  
But then, the other job folk started chattering, and Nancy’s confident smirk fell off of her face and was replaced with a look Giselle knew better — confusion. That snapped Giselle out of her trance, and she decided a dance was in order as she waited for Nancy to come back.  
  
It was then that she really noticed the group of people who had been walking with Nancy. If they were friends of Nancy’s, she wanted to make their acquaintance.  
  
The woman’s hair was so beautiful. She had no idea why bringing up the woman’s True Love would lead to getting snapped at. Then for Nancy to tell her that they were no longer in love was just devastating...she simply couldn’t help but cry!  
  
Not even Nancy could explain this separation properly to her. Nancy who had all the answers, who was so kind but now was treating her as if it was all her fault.  
  
Giselle wanted to go home, and it seemed Nancy would be all too happy to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and constructive criticism is always appreciated!


	5. New Opportunities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see Nancy turn Giselle away thinking it's what is best for her. But how does she know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! Two chapters in one day! Crazy, right? I decided that because I already had this one queued up and all I had to do was add some italics I figured I could upload this chapter too.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it ;)
> 
> As always, thank you to @Erica_Bain for being my editor.

Nancy was muttering to herself, “I try to do the right thing-”  
  
“Oh, you’ve been very nice to me,” Giselle had cut in, not realizing Nancy hadn’t expected or wanted an answer.  
  
Nancy didn’t even stop pulling Giselle along by the arm as she snapped, “And I’m being severely punished for it.”  
  
Nancy tried to hail a cab for Giselle and took out some money, “Okay look, Giselle. I can’t help you anymore. Okay?”  
  
Giselle looked hurt, “What?”  
  
Nancy handed her the cash, “Here’s some money. I want you to take it. Call your prince. Have him pick you up, bring his horse, because honestly, I just can’t handle this.”  
  
Giselle’s hurt deepened and it showed on her face, “Nancy?”  
  
This reminded Nancy of a movie she saw where a little boy had to convince a loyal dog to stop following him. The kid had to yell at the dog and call it stupid before it would go away. Nancy had cried, and if she lingered here long enough, she might just do it again.  
  
“Just go.”  
  
Giselle slowly took the money, “I’m so sorry. You have been a very kind friend to me when I had none. And I-”  
  
_Oh geez. She’s marking this harder..._  
  
“And I would never want to make you unhappy or cause you trouble, so…I’ll go. I wish you every happiness.”  
  
Nancy had nodded, and then watched Giselle go with a frustrated groan. It was like that time when she broke up with that guy who just didn’t do it for it her and he was so sweet about it. As she kept watching Giselle, Nancy saw her stop by a car with the windows rolled down. Nancy’s panic started to rise and hit its peak when she saw Giselle get in the car.  
  
“Oh my God! What is she doing?!”  
  
Nancy got in the nearest taxi and said, “Follow that car. I think my friend just got abducted.”  
  
“What? Lady this isn’t some Law and Order crime drama. I’m not-”  
  
“Just fucking drive,” Nancy yelled. “I’ll tip you.”  
  
Nancy was anxiously watching the car Giselle was in as it snaked through traffic heading north. Eventually, the car stopped and let Giselle out in Central Park, where she waved to the driver and started heading down one of the many paths.  
  
“Stop the car!” Nancy had shouted.  
  
The driver slammed on the breaks, and true to her word, Nancy threw a wad of cash at him before hurrying after Giselle. It wasn’t particularly crowded in the park, but New York is always bustling in general. She could just barely see the top of Giselle’s head. She was gaining on her, careful not to lose her.  
  
Nancy ran right into a vendor’s cart, knocking a lot of stuff to the ground. She quickly apologized and helped to pick some of the things up before she looked up again. Giselle was nowhere to be seen. Nancy ran down the path she guessed that Giselle had taken, but couldn’t find her. She bent over with her hands on her knees gasping for breath, but her excursion through the park wasn’t the only thing causing her to gasp. She had just given an extremely naive woman who didn’t know New York at all a sizeable chunk of cash. Now, that woman could be anywhere in the huge park, probably being convinced by some junkie to give them her money.  
  
Nancy stood up straight again with renewed resolve and turned around. And there Giselle was; she was talking to some old lady feeding the birds.  
  
“You have lovely friends,” Nancy barely heard her say.  
  
“Would you like to feed the birds? Just a dollar a bag,” the old lady asked.  
  
“Certainly,” Giselle handed over the rest of the money that Nancy gave her. “By chance, have you seen my prince?”  
  
Nancy headed over to them, filled with relief.  
  
The old lady held the bill up to the light, “He was here.”  
  
“Do you think so?”  
  
“Oh yes,” the woman was more interested in Giselle’s cash, it seemed.  
  
“Oh!” Giselle exclaimed in joy clapping her hands.  
  
“Giselle, what are you doing??” Nancy had reached Giselle.  
  
Giselle immediately got into Nancy’s space as usual, “Nancy! This is Clara — she saw Edward!”  
  
Nancy highly doubted in a city this big that Giselle randomly ran into someone who happened to see her “True Love.” So she turned to the old lady, hoping to help Giselle sort out the facts.  
  
“He was on the bus this morning. He tried to kill me!”  
  
_Well, she’s crazy._  
  
“Great. Wonderful. Thank you!” Nancy uttered half-heartedly as she grabbed Giselle by the arm once more and led her away. Once they had moved down the path a bit further, she turned Giselle to face her.  
  
“What are you thinking?! You can’t just get in random cars and give away your money to people.”  
  
Giselle’s brow furrowed. She wished there was a list of rules that she could try to follow. But it seemed to her that even when she followed Nancy’s directions, Nancy would tell her she’s doing it wrong. So all Giselle could really do is give her the facts, plain and simple.  
  
“The nice woman in the car said she was Oober and would take me anywhere I wanted to go. Plus, you gave me money.”  
  
Nancy huffed, “That’s not the point.”  
  
“And she was very helpful.”  
  
Nancy slowed her walk, centering herself. It occurred to her suddenly that all that really mattered was Giselle was okay. She should just take a much-needed a long lunch…or maybe she wouldn’t go back to work at all. Maybe instead of being flustered by Giselle, she could get to know her more and finally get to the bottom of all this. It was pretty much settled that the whole not getting involved in Giselle’s life thing wasn’t actually going to happen. So, she let go of Giselle’s arm and headed down a path she knew would take them by the Central Park Pond.  
  
“So, what’s the deal with this prince of yours? How long you two been together?”  
  
“Oh, about a day,” Giselle sighed dreamily.  
  
Nancy looked up to the sky asking for deliverance or patience, “...You mean it feels like a day because you’re so in love?”  
  
Giselle silently wondered if Nancy’s hearing was in good order., “No...it’s been a day.”  
  
_She can’t literally mean a day. This woman is head over heels for Prince Edward. That doesn’t happen overnight._  
  
Smiling and barely able to contain herself, Nancy pressed her, “You’re kidding me. A day? One day?”  
  
“Yes… and tomorrow will be two days,” Giselle said wistfully.  
  
“You’re joking,” Nancy smiled once more.  
  
_It’s like she was sent here just to shake up my life._  
  
“No. I’m not,” Giselle said happily, unaware of Nancy’s deteriorating mood.  
  
“Yea, you are. You have to be.”  
  
“But I’m not.”  
  
Nancy stopped walking and looked Giselle in the eye, “You’re gonna marry somebody after a day because you fell in love? Oh honey…”  
  
“Yes!” Giselle said enthusiastically as she kept walking with a smile, dragging Nancy along behind her.  
  
Nancy saw a hot dog cart ahead and decided to let the marriage thing go for a minute. For now, she just needed to decompress.  
  
“I’m hungry, are you?”  
  
“I was just thinking of picking some berries for lunch,” Giselle suggested.  
  
“You can’t come to New York and not eat from a food cart! I’ll get us some real New York food.”  
  
Nancy came back with two hot dogs. As she finished hers, she started back in with her interrogation.  
  
“Okay but I don’t get it. How can you talk about loving some guy you don’t even know?”  
  
“Well, I know what’s in his heart,” Giselle said matter of factly while she continued munching on the hot dog.  
  
“Oh is that all? Great. I wish it were that easy for me,” Nancy trailed off, sarcastically, even though she knew Giselle wouldn’t pick up on her tone.  
  
“This was so yummy. I didn’t know that food could taste like this!”  
  
“Are you all done with your hot dog?” Nancy asked.  
  
Giselle instantly stopped eating and just stared at Nancy wide-eyed, praying it was a joke. She couldn’t have just eaten -  
  
Nancy saw Giselle’s look and immediately knew what she was thinking, “It’s not actually — it’s just called that, sweetie.”  
  
Relieved, Giselle answered Nancy’s question, “Oh yes! I’m done. Thank you!”  
  
“Here let me get that for you,” Nancy took the rest of Giselle’s hot dog and threw it away.  
  
“What about you? How long have you known your Robert?”  
  
“Uh...it’s five years now.”  
  
Giselle was shocked, “And he hasn’t proposed?”  
  
“Well, no. I —” Nancy was preparing to go into her well-practiced spiel about how marriage was just invented to finalize the sale of women in the ancient days, and that she and Robert were satisfied with taking things slowly. At that point, usually she’d get cut off by the hackneyed warning that if she wanted to bear her own children, time was ticking away...Nancy usually chuckled, pretending she hadn’t thought of that little detail.  
  
But before she could continue, Giselle interrupted, “Well, no wonder you’re mad at him. If he really loved you, he would pledge his devotion to you with a grand wedding!”  
  
Nancy jumped as a semi-creepy guy came up to them suddenly.  
  
“Hello, nice lady. You want juicy, sweet caramel apple, maybe?”  
  
Giselle pondered the apple.  
  
“No charge for the beautiful young woman,” the man pressed.  
  
Nancy crossed her arms as alarm bells went off in her head, “It’s free?”  
  
“Of course! Today is free caramel apple day. Tomorrow is free…beef jerky,” the man slowed his speech oddly.  
  
“Well then, where is my free caramel apple?” Nancy persisted. She figured Giselle was getting the offer mainly because her porcelain tits were on full display.  
  
_Goddammit, I’m looking at them now..._  
  
“Oh no! That was the last—” the man cut off momentarily before shouting, “ONE!”  
  
Nancy watched the man with narrowed eyes as Giselle took the apple, “Thank you very much, kind sir.”  
  
The man continued acting strange as he waved her off as if to say ‘no trouble at all.’ Before she could question him further, the man was scampering away. Nancy decided to stop being paranoid for once and just let it go.  
  
“Anyway,” she continued to her redheaded companion as they resumed their walk, “Most normal people get to know each other before they get married. They date.”  
  
Giselle shook her head not understanding, “Date?”  
  
“Yeah, you know, date. You go someplace special, like a restaurant, or a movie, a museum….or you just hang out and you...talk.”  
  
“What do you talk about?”  
  
“About each other. About yourself. About your interests — your likes, your dislikes. You talk,” Nancy finished with a smile. She felt herself starting to get pulled in again by those gorgeous eyes. She resisted by looking down at her feet as she walked.  
  
“You have such strange ideas about love,” Giselle finally responded.  
  
Nancy threw back her head with a laugh and Giselle followed the graceful length of Nancy’s neck with her eyes. The pale skin looked so delicate, but the woman it belonged to looked so strong, like a force of nature or a graceful swan.  
  
“Maybe we should all do what you would do,” Nancy started, not unkindly this time. “You meet, have lunch, and get married.”  
  
“Oh! You forgot about Happily Ever After.”  
  
Nancy’s smile fell a bit, as she remembered her past relationships, “Forget ‘happily ever after.’ It doesn’t exist.”  
  
Giselle threw her hands in the air violently, expelling the caramel apple as a result, exclaiming, ”Well, of course it does!” Nancy would have laughed if she hadn’t been so startled.  
  
Nancy sighed, pulling herself out of her troublesome thoughts, “I hate to disagree, but marriages are only a success if they manage not to end. Forget about happiness.”  
  
“What about you and Robert? You know that you will live happily ever after.” Giselle noticed that on the surface, she truly wanted Nancy to make up with Robert. But there was a small part of her deep down that thought that maybe he wasn’t her prince.  
  
“Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll make it through today, let alone a lifetime. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It’s complicated.”  
  
Giselle noticed how Nancy said, “I” and “me” instead of “we” and “us” a lot. She pushed away those thoughts without examining them closer. She belonged with Edward, and Nancy should be with Robert.  
  
_Right?_  
  
“But it doesn’t have to be,” Giselle insisted. “Not if he knows.”  
  
“Knows what?” Nancy asked as she stopped to face Giselle.  
  
“How much you really love him.”  
  
“Of course he does. We just don’t talk about it every minute of the day, but he knows. In fact, I think I say it more than he does.”  
  
“How?” she pressed further reminding Nancy of Morgan’s inquisitiveness.  
  
“What do you mean, ‘How?’”  
  
Just then Giselle started singing to Nancy, and before she could say “true love,” she was traipsing all over Central Park, trying to make sure Giselle didn’t hurt herself or anyone else. She sang her way through the dairy, the boating lake, the mall, Sheep Meadow, Bow Bridge, and Bethesda Terrace to name a few. It was such a whirlwind that, at times, Nancy wasn’t even sure how they traveled from place to place so quickly. On top of that, everyone they ran into seemed to know the song Giselle was singing. They even had the choreography for it like some mysterious flash mob. Giselle only stopped for a bit in the middle to send doves flitting off to Robert’s office with flowers and two tickets to a ball.  
  
After the big finish, the only thing Nancy knew to do was to raise her hands in the air like everyone else. She was past the point of trying to figure out what the hell was happening, and as an avid Broadway fan, she was rarely opposed to a showstopper.  
  
Nancy had to pull Giselle away from her adoring fans in order to get back to work. She needed to fix this Duke debacle and fast.  
  
As Nancy walked back into work, the phone rang. Anna answered, “Oh hey! She just came back from lunch! I’ll patch you through to her office line.”  
  
Anna spoke to Nancy then, “It’s Robert for you.”  
  
Nancy brought Giselle back to her private office and answered the phone.  
  
“Robert?”  
  
“How the hell did you get live doves to deliver flowers in New York City?”  
  
Nancy thought Robert would have laughed it off or been surprised. Instead, he sounded angry.  
  
“Did they catch you at a bad time?” Nancy asked, concerned.  
  
“The worst possible time! I was just about to close a very difficult case out of court when those buzzards flew in and disrupted everything!”  
  
Nancy was shocked at the gruff tone Robert was using, “I just—”  
  
“No! What has gotten into you lately? I catch you with some strange girl when you were supposed to be taking my daughter to school and now this? Was this supposed to be some sort of apology? I don’t have time to go to a ball with you right now.”  
  
Nancy was in shock, “Look, I told you as far as Giselle is concerned, I’m just trying to help her. Nothing is happening. As for the ball, I thought we could have a good time together since we haven’t had a night out in so long.”  
  
“I think that girl has scrambled your brain. I thought you were over that crazy phase when you started this relationship with me.”  
  
Now Nancy was mad.  
  
“Just because I’m dating you does not mean I got over being bisexual, Robert. That will always be a part of me no matter who I’m with!”  
  
“No matter who you’re with? Are you saying that you’re not _with_ me anymore?”  
  
“With the way you’re acting I don’t know if I want that negativity in my life. I thought—”  
  
Robert started to interrupt her again, but at this point, Nancy was having none of it.  
  
“No, Robert! I am speaking. I thought we were ready to take the next step forward. I see now that I was sorely mistaken and maybe we need some time apart.” Nancy held her breath. She wasn’t intending to say that but now that she had she wasn’t the least bit sorry.  
  
“...Fine.”  
  
With that, Robert hung up.  
  
Nancy was huffing in anger when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She roughly shrugged off the hand and moved away. She looked where the hand came from and immediately felt like a jerk.  
  
“Did my friends not do the trick with Robert?” Giselle asked in a small voice. She had overheard some of Nancy’s side of their conversation.  
  
“Oh, Giselle...none of this is your fault,” Nancy lamented. “To think I somehow thought it was you that kept getting in the way, when really it was him.”  
  
Giselle shrunk back into herself and Nancy felt worse. That didn’t come out right. Looking at Giselle hurting even a little bit combined with the new freedom Nancy had claimed, she felt like she was seeing Giselle with new eyes. The way the light hit her auburn hair made it glow, illuminating the faint lines on her cheeks from her dimples. Even the cute white heeled boots she was wearing were new in Nancy’s eyes.  
  
It was like at last she was seeing the light, a whole new world, and so much more. In whatever way possible, she needed Giselle to know.  
  
“Giselle,” Nancy whispered.  
  
She looked up into Nancy’s eyes and saw the striking flecks of brown in them. The thought that they were familiar in some way crossed Giselle’s mind once more, but she still couldn’t quite place them.  
  
Nancy tried to speak, but the intensity of Giselle’s gaze was making it difficult. She ended up just staring into her eyes, unable to speak and not sure if she wanted to for fear it might break the moment they were having together.  
  
“Boss!” Anna’s voice broke the moment and she blinked as she looked toward the intercom on her desk.  
  
Nancy looked away from Giselle as real life came rushing in again. She became discouraged from telling her anything about how she really felt just yet, if ever.  
  
“Who needs him anyway,” Nancy said after she cleared her throat and sniffed.  
  
“If he doesn’t see and understand the real you then he doesn’t deserve you,” Giselle said as she squeezed Nancy’s arm reassuringly.  
  
Nancy was shocked by the depth of that statement. For a second, she could have sworn she was chatting with her best friend instead of a peculiar almost stranger. She let that one settle a bit before she cleared her throat again and changed the subject, “Well, so much for that ball tomorrow night.”  
  
Giselle’s brow furrowed, “Oh dear. The doves had your tickets.”  
  
“He can keep them.”  
  
“Well, like you said. Who needs him,” Giselle saw that Nancy was hurting and decided to cheer her up.  
  
She sang out her same, trusty call for some more friends to come help her. Two birds flew down from the sky through the window and landed on her shoulder. She whispered to them before they quickly flew off.  
  
“What did you tell them to do?” Nancy asked.  
  
“I just asked them to get the tickets back,” Giselle tried to play innocent.  
  
Nancy knew something was off anyway. By now she knew that Giselle was too innocent for this world, or so it seemed. Obviously as soon as she tried to lie, it was glaringly obvious.  
  
_And so friggin cute._  
  
“Uh-huh. I’m not even going to ask again. Let’s go.”  
  
“Where?”  
  
“Well, I’ve decided on no more work for today, and I need a new cell phone.”  
  
Nancy marched out of her office holding Giselle’s hand as she trailed behind.  
  
“Where are you going,” Anna asked fearfully as she saw just how mad her boss was.  
  
“Fuck work. I’m going out.” Nancy stated shortly.  
  
Giselle waved at her new friend Anna as she was dragged out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm definitely feeling like Nancy for these past weeks which is strange because I wrote this chapter months ago... Hmmm 
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments!


	6. What is a Date Anyway?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nancy and Giselle go out on a date... Or do they? Also there is some fun at the end for y'all ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always to erica_bain for editing my work. 
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it.

They had spent the whole day exploring a small portion of New York. The birds that Giselle had sent on the errand had indeed come back with the two tickets to the ball.  
  
On the way back to Nancy’s apartment, they stopped in a pizza place at Nancy’s insistence that Giselle try authentic New York pizza.  
  
While they were eating, Nancy decided to play a game with Giselle. She usually just played the game in her head by herself, but this would be more fun.  
  
“I am going to tell you what these people have ordered.”  
  
“Oh! I didn’t know you were magical,” Giselle looked at Nancy in wonder.  
  
“This couple got two meatball and parmesan sandwiches,” Nancy indicated the table behind her.  
  
She then pointed across the way, “That old man with his son and grandson will order an anchovy pizza with extra anchovies and for the grandson a spaghetti without sauce.”  
  
Sure enough, when the food came out, Nancy had guessed every single order right.  
  
Giselle clapped her hands, “What about her?”  
  
Nancy looked at the woman sitting there by herself. She had never seen her before. Little did Giselle know, Nancy went to the pizza place so often and people were such creatures of habit that Nancy knew what they were going to order. It wouldn’t hurt to take a shot though.  
  
“She will have a dry, dirty martini, extra dry, and a salad with the dressing on the side.”  
  
She watched the waiter bring out her food and drink exactly as Nancy predicted.  
  
Giselle clapped her hands again, “You’re a soothsayer!”  
  
“You could say that,” Nancy leaned back in her chair with a smirk and sipped her scotch.  
  
Giselle looked around curiously and then said, “This is a very nice place.”  
  
Nancy agreed, not sure what she was getting at.  
  
“And we’re eating dinner,” Giselle quizzed Nancy.  
  
“Yep,” Nancy smiled. It was cute when Giselle tried to figure out Nancy’s world.  
  
“This is a date!” Giselle smiled as she figured out the answer.  
  
“Yea,” Nancy’s face widened as her smile got bigger and butterflies filled her stomach. Then it fell with frightened realization, “No! No, no, no. We’re just friends. Besides, people who are engaged generally don’t go on dates with other people.”  
  
Nancy knocked back a hefty pull of her drink.  
  
Giselle continued, “That’s too bad. You and Edward would have a great time on a date with me.”  
  
Nancy choked on scotch a bit at the implications of Giselle’s sentence.  
  
“Oh, are you okay?” Giselle asked in a panic.  
  
Nancy took a deep breath before answering, “Yes. My drink just went down the wrong way.”  
  
Nancy looked at Giselle more closely. She seemed to be struggling internally with something.  
  
“What?” Nancy asked gently with a small, encouraging smile.  
  
“You were in love once before Robert. Weren’t you? That’s why you’re so unsure about love.”  
  
Giselle’s insight astounded Nancy once more, “Oh! Uh, well, I just...”  
  
“What?” then Giselle was the encouraging one. Nancy looked into her wide eyes and told her.  
  
“I don’t really talk about it.”  
  
Giselle’s face immediately turned down as her brow furrowed, “Oh I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”  
  
Nancy answered, “No, it’s okay. I don’t talk about it to Robert or to anybody.”  
  
“Because it was very sad?”  
  
If Nancy hadn’t been so caught up in thinking of the past, she would have seen Giselle’s heartache for her displayed so plainly on her face.  
  
Nancy answered, “Not at first.”  
  
Giselle smiled again, “So you were in love.”  
  
Nancy knocked back the rest of her scotch and felt it warm her chest and belly, “Yea. That was the problem.”  
  
Giselle’s adorable confused face made another appearance, “How could that be a problem?”  
  
Nancy took a sip of the new scotch placed faithfully in front of her by her favorite waiter before she answered, “Because love -- the lovey-dovey version that you talk about? It’s fantasy. And one day, you have to wake up and….you’re in the real world.”  
  
Nancy tried not to focus on Giselle so intensely as Giselle bit her lip in sorrow. She found herself mirroring the action as she tried to hold herself back from these blooming feelings for Giselle.  
  
She snapped out of it successfully when Giselle continued her questioning, “What made you wake up?”  
  
Nancy tamped down all her feelings about her ex, about Robert, about Giselle, about life. There was just too much turmoil swirling around her chest, “Well…she left me for some boy she had dated in high school. I guess she discovered she wasn’t actually a lesbian and that he could provide for her like I couldn’t.”  
  
“I’m so sorry for you both.”  
  
Nancy pulled herself out of her dark thoughts with great difficulty as Giselle wondered what kind of person would leave Nancy. There was obviously something wrong with them.  
  
“It’s okay...now. I’m a big girl. I can handle it. But when I was with Robert, I basically raised Morgan with him. She’s so shy, and I worry about her. She doesn’t have very many friends. I just wanted her to be strong, you know? To be able to face the world for what it is. That’s why we didn’t encourage the fairy tales. We didn’t want to set her up to believe in this ‘dreams come true nonsense.’ Not that I really have say in her life anymore.”  
  
“But dreams really do come true. And maybe something wonderful will happen.”  
  
Nancy smiled, “Yea, well, I forgot who I was talking to.”  
  
Giselle unconsciously leaned closer to Nancy, and her voice dropped a bit lower, “Well, I hope you don’t forget. I like talking to you.”  
  
Nancy leaned in closer as well, and it was as if they had been transformed into two magnets without realizing it. Her eyes locked on Giselle’s plump lips, and suddenly she was floating even closer.  
  
“Giselle, I want you to know that -”  
  
“For the nice lady,” a meaty hand that carried a drink jutted into Nancy’s view of Giselle. She pulled back with a scowl as the man continued, “From a secret admirer.”  
  
Nancy looked at the waiter, who looked very familiar, before scanning the restaurant for the guy she was going to have to intimidate.  
  
_Maybe you should cut back on those scotches, eh Tremaine?_  
  
“Secret admirer?” Nancy balked. “How come people keep giving you free stuff?”  
  
Giselle took the drink in awe, “What is it?”  
  
The “waiter” continued in his fake accent, “Itsa apple martini, miss.”  
  
“Apple mar-ooh,” Giselle exclaimed. The land she found herself in had truly thought of everything. “It looks yummy!”  
  
After Nancy had a good look around, she decided no one in the restaurant had sent the drink to Giselle. Either that, or they were hiding it very well. She turned back to Giselle, “Be careful. It’s poisonous.”  
  
Giselle looked startled before she looked closer at Nancy, “You’re joking.”  
  
Nancy laughed, “Yea, but they’ll creep up on you. I’d be careful.”  
  
Giselle nodded as she brought the glass closer to her lips, “Well, I’ll just have one sip.”  
  
The “waiter” was getting creepier, Nancy noticed as he said, “A sip...is all it ah takes.”  
  
Just as the glass was about to touch her lips, a fuzzy blur knocked it out of her hand. Nancy could have sworn that she heard a tiny high-pitched, “Hi-yah!”  
  
_Definitely cutting back on the scotch now._  
  
She looked down at what the blur had been and saw it was a rodent of some kind. Nancy lost her shit, “Oh my god -- there’s a rodent on the table! Can we get some help here?”  
  
Nancy spun around as she looked for help and noticed Giselle was holding it to her face.  
  
“He’s telling me something. Oh, Pip! You’re here!”  
  
A lady at the next table over said, “It’s chewing off her face!”  
  
Even after all the shit she had seen with Giselle thus far, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The chipmunk was pantomiming as if he was playing charades. She had no idea what he was saying but apparently Giselle did.  
  
“Edward is here!”  
  
Then the “waiter” swung a broom at the creature who promptly skittered away.  
  
Giselle was worried he had been hurt, “Oh my! Pip?”  
  
Nancy went to her side and pushed Giselle’s hair out of her face as she looked for injuries. But Giselle was too busy looking around frantically for her friend to listen.  
  
“Let me see your face.”  
  
Giselle pulled away appalled, “I’m fine! Pip wouldn’t scratch me.”  
  
Giselle continued to look around for her friend, “Where’s Pip? Oh, where is he?”  
  
The same lady who accused Pip of chewing off Giselle’s face piped up again, “The pizza is breathing!”  
  
_Of all the dumb things,_ Nancy thought, but when she looked down, she noticed the pizza was moving strangely.  
  
Giselle made a grab for it but the “waiter” got there before her and flung the pizza like a frisbee. It shot into the pizza oven, and Nancy was glad they hadn’t eaten it, because it looked to be an incendiary pizza, causing flames to shoot out of the oven.  
  
Everyone around them started clapping for the apparent rodent murderer. Giselle, however, buried her face in Nancy’s neck and almost started crying, “Oh, Pip.”  
  
Nancy was startled by the sudden contact, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”  
  
Giselle sniffled a bit, “He was my best friend.”  
  
Nancy just sighed. She should have known Giselle’s best friend would be a woodland creature. A talking one, at that.  
  
Soon, the restaurant was emptied out by the general manager. Apparently, this “attack” was enough to warrant a call to the fire department to excavate the oven for rodent remains.  
  
Nancy decided then that she must be the crazy one, and that the world around her was actually sane. Then the news truck pulled up and quickly found out that the woman attacked by the rodent was Giselle. The newswoman was talking to a coroner already who said, “Preliminary search of the pizza oven did not reveal any rodent remains.”  
  
He turned to the camera dramatically as if he were on _SVU_ , “This animal’s still out there.”  
  
Nancy rolled her eyes.  
  
The newswoman carried on, “Joining us is the woman who was attacked by this chipmunk. Tell us, how does it feel knowing this dangerous animal is most likely still alive?”  
  
Giselle had been told the good news only moments before and pierced Nancy’s ear with her delighted scream. She turned towards the newswoman, “Wonderful! Pip is my very best friend, and —”  
  
Nancy moved forward to stop Giselle before some psychiatrist saw her on the news and locked her away in a looney bin. She grabbed Giselle’s hand and started shuffling her away despite Giselle’s protest for one more question.  
  
“Why don’t we go home,” Nancy asked gently but firmly.  
  
On the short walk to Nancy’s place, Giselle started telling her stories of Pip’s previous heroisms. Apparently, the world knew only a lie about the Big, Bad Wolf being the evil one, and that Little Red Riding Hood had a penchant for axes.  
  
Nancy spoke up there, “I don’t remember that version.”  
  
“Well, that’s because Red tells it a little differently,” Giselle shot back kindly without missing a beat.  
  
As they made their way into the apartment, Lucy cried out for attention, and Nancy threw her keys on the entryway table before picking her up.  
  
“I know. Mama has been away a long time. Did you have any supper?” Nancy cooed to her furbaby. She turned back to Giselle, who had been watching her closely.  
  
Giselle had never heard Nancy use that tone of voice before. It was kind of sweet.  
  
“Oh. Uh,” Nancy stammered a bit embarrassed. “Let me get you something to sleep in. then you can shower — if you want.”  
  
Nancy fed Lucy first and then went to her bedroom, struggling not to recall the last time Giselle had showered here. Was it really just that morning that Giselle had fallen on her and Robert had stormed off? She was going through her drawers as she kept thinking and the alcohol in her system let her mind wander to places that it normally wouldn’t. Maybe going a bit _too_ far.  
  
She was thinking of how Giselle’s body felt on top of her. So light, and yet still pressing her into the floor. It was strange having the cold hardwood floor that she had paid dearly for pressing into her back, contrasted by the soft, warm person draped across her front.  
  
Nancy bit her lip and clenched the edges of the drawer she had opened during her search.  
  
_You mustn’t think that way of a beautiful, innocent flower!_  
  
Nancy shook her head to clear out the strangely worded thought that just flitted through her head. She startled herself when she slammed the drawer closed and the alcohol or something else impaired her ability to have 100% control over her body.  
  
With a deep, centering breath Nancy walked out of her bedroom and headed towards the living room to give Giselle the old t-shirt and gym shorts that had her alma mater printed on them. When she passed the bathroom, however, she noticed that Giselle had already hopped into the shower.  
  
She knocked on the door and cracked it open after she heard a cheerful, “Come in!”  
  
Nancy tried to keep her eyes down to the floor, “I’ve got some clothes here for you whenever you’re ready for them.”  
  
Giselle peeked her head round the curtain, “Thank you!”  
  
Nancy hurried out of the bathroom, bumping into the doorframe on her way out as she made her way into the kitchen. Fuck what she said earlier — Nancy needed another drink. She poured herself some scotch and walked to her bedroom to lay down on her bed and maybe calm down.  
  
She was slowly slipping the rich scotch when Lucy settled on her belly and just stared at Nancy.  
  
“What? What do you want?” Nancy asked her confidant. She could feel the feline judging her hardcore. “I’m not sure what you think I’m going to do but I’ll be fine. So you can just calm down and stop judging me.”  
  
Lucy meowed at Nancy as if to say, “Sure.”  
  
Then she got up and headed back into the hallway. Nancy sighed.  
  
_Great, now even my cat is judging me._  
  
But she couldn’t help it! She lay there and tried not to think of Giselle...in the next room...showering...naked. Who knew the mundane sound of a shower running could arouse someone so much?  
  
Nancy tried to drown out the sound by playing some music on her surround speakers. It definitely stopped the sound of the shower from reaching her ears. However, it didn’t stop the image of Giselle in the shower from reaching her brain or stop Nancy from reaching her hand into her pants.  
  
It had been so long since she had felt sweet release. What with Robert always stating he was too stressed or tired, or her own stress and busy schedule prevented the spirit of Aphrodite to take hold of her. In fact, she felt as though it was Pothos who had a hold of her recently. What with all the yearning and desire swirling around her...inside of her.  
  
As she continued her ministrations on her now engorged clit, Nancy felt herself crawling slowly toward the peak. She was lost in the feeling as it was building in her lower belly. A deep ache tugging at her that made her moan and rock into her hand seeking more and more friction.  
  
“Oh fuck,” she clenched her back teeth begging her orgasm to not slip away. She was so close that she could feel her head clearing of all thoughts except of Giselle and her beautiful body.  
  
She came undone beneath her own hand hard as her body arched off of the bed. She was vaguely aware of Giselle’s name falling from her lips with a sigh.  
  
After laying in bed trying to recover from one of the most intense orgasms she’d had in a while, she noted that she didn’t even have to enter herself at all. It only took her flicking her clit and the image of Giselle in the shower. Nancy scoffed at her desperate self. She got up and downed the rest of her drink. She was going to pretend to herself that she was not just masturbating to the image of a woman she had just met as if she were back in college.  
  
When she turned off her music she noticed the shower was off and grabbed some clothes for herself. She was going to take one as well after that display. As she reached the bathroom door she yelled out to Giselle, wherever she was in the apartment, “Feel free to pour yourself a drink of anything you want! As a treat, I’ll order us some dessert later.”  
  
She heard a faint, “Okay.” come from the direction of the living room before she hopped into the shower herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh la la! Nancy is naughty isn't she ;D


	7. Burnin' Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giselle starts to notice she is having... thoughts about a certain brunette. As the title of this chapter implies, it gets a little hot in here ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @Erica_Bain for always helping me express myself in a sharper way.

Earlier that day, Giselle was captivated by exploring Manhattan with Nancy, watching her in her element on the busy streets. Giselle noticed Nancy could certainly hold her own against the rough “city men” of this strange new land. Like ogres, they would often yell strange things at her or Nancy as they passed by. But Nancy wouldn’t even give them a second look, snapping back with something like, “Blow it out your ass.”  
  
Giselle wasn’t sure what being rude to women on the street had to do with farm animals, but she gathered from their dumbfounded looks and Nancy’s smirk that her new friend had gotten the best of those big men in funny yellow hats.  
  
As soon as they arrived at Nancy’s home, Giselle was grateful for Nancy’s offer to re-enter the the magical “shower” room where her day started. Maybe she could ease the aches in her feet and back. It was a strange feeling; she used to be able to walk long distances in Andalasia as though they were nothing. So, Giselle went happily to the shower and hopped in. When Nancy came in later to bring the pajamas, Giselle had noticed the slur in her voice. She peeked her head out of the shower to check if Nancy was okay, but the curious woman had all but thrown the pajamas on the counter and ran out of the room. Giselle had furrowed her brow, pondering Nancy and all that she was. She was like the macaron she tasted for the first time earlier in the day; beautiful - slightly crunchy on the outside, but at the first bite, gooey on the inside.  
  
_I wonder if Nancy herself would taste as good,_ A deeper voice had entered Giselle’s head that suspiciously sounded like Nancy’s voice. At that point, Giselle stopped running her fingers through her hair and covered her mouth suddenly, gasping in shock.  
  
_Where did that come from?_  
  
Giselle bit her lip in concern. A thought like that had never entered her head before.  
  
_People are only allowed to touch lips together in chaste kisses signifying true love. Nothing else! She reminded herself._  
  
The voice cut in again.  
  
_But where is the fun in that? You don’t want to kiss her lips anyway. You want to kiss her—_  
  
Giselle squeaked in shock at where the thought was going. Maybe the shower wasn’t such a good place to be after all. Somewhere, she had heard that all magic comes with a price! She quickly finished her shower as if to outrun her intrusive thoughts. She dressed and almost ran out of the washroom.  
  
Giselle first went to the living room, and then the kitchen looking for Nancy, but only found her furry friend Lucy. She called out down the hall. Hearing no response, Giselle began to worry and headed toward Nancy’s bedroom. Behind the closed door, she could hear music playing. Suddenly sensing a pleasant, inviting aura, Giselle slowly opened Nancy’s bedroom door a bit and stuck her head in, having received no answer to her knock. What Giselle saw before her was something she had never beheld.  
  
At first glance, it was as if Nancy was writhing in pain trying desperately to get something out of her pants. Giselle froze, unsure of what to do. She just stood there staring at the sight before her, discovering how intriguing a sight it was once she figured out Nancy wasn’t in pain. It even seemed somehow…pleasurable.  
  
But Giselle was still confused, as she had never even heard of such an act, let alone seen it performed right in front of her. But the way that Nancy was rocking her hips had Giselle entranced. It was as if something inside of the strong brunette was growling, waiting to be released from its cage. Giselle moved her hand slowly to her stomach, grasping the material of the pajama top there. She was frightened of the possibilities but her curiosity was pushing back, wanting to be fulfilled completely. Gradually, she lifted her shirt and eased her hand toward the waistband of her pajama shorts. When she slipped her hand into her underwear, she stopped unsure of what to do. She moved her fingers around a bit across the thatch of hair feeling nothing. She moved her hand lower feeling nothing still until she reached a point in her body that made her jump. She repeated the movement and the feeling doubled.  
  
She gasped and looked back at Nancy in fear, wondering if she had been heard. Nancy’s frame was still on the bed rocking and muttering as if a spirit had taken her. Giselle timidly moved her fingers in the same motion again, bringing back the feeling that she could now brace herself for. She quickly picked up the speed of her hand enjoying the pulling feeling that was building in her lower belly. When she thought the feeling couldn’t get any better she heard Nancy sigh her name. Then she felt as if something struck her with lightning made of stars rather than electricity. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move, or even make a sound.  
  
At some point she had closed her eyes without being aware of it. When she opened them, Nancy was lying spread-eagle on the bed, breathing deeply as if there wasn’t enough oxygen in the world.  
  
Giselle was attempting to process what exactly just happened and blushed at her conclusion. She ripped her slick fingers out of her pants and quickly scampered back to the living room. She flopped down on the couch and just sat there thinking about her new discovery. Lucy padded onto her lap and she absentmindedly pet her. She heard Nancy say something about dessert.  
  
Hopefully, it came soon because nothing could distract Giselle from her thoughts like something sweet.  
  
She tried to figure out what happened exactly. Had she heard of anything like this back in Andalasia? Was it a spell, curse, or potion? Was she being punished for something? If it was a punishment why did it feel so good? Was that what it felt like for Nancy just now?  
  
“Giselle!”  
  
She jumped as the subject of her thoughts called her named.  
  
“Are you okay,” Nancy asked looking at Giselle with concern.  
  
“What,” Giselle had trouble pulling back her thoughts into the present world she was in. “Oh, uh, yes. I’m fine!”  
  
“Really? Because you look all flushed, honey.” Nancy put her hand on Giselle’s forehead. “Oh, sweetie, you’re running a fever.”  
  
Giselle closed her eyes when Nancy’s cooler skin made contact with hers which was blazing. She finally responded, “I’m fine.”  
  
“Okay, well if you’re sure,” Nancy left that thought hanging and sat across from Giselle on the edge of the coffee table in front of the couch. “Look, Giselle. That was a nice story about your chipmunk friend and all.”  
  
Giselle nods sensing there was more, “Yes.”  
  
“I know what it’s like when someone disappoints you. It’s tempting to see things the way you wish instead of how they are-”  
  
Giselle interrupted, knowing where that line of thought was going, “I don’t wish that he’s coming, Nancy. He is.” Confused by her earlier actions and thoughts, Giselle reaffirmed what she had been saying the whole time.  
  
Nancy scoffed, “Right… because the chipmunk told you.”  
  
“Yes. Pip actually said-”  
  
It was Nancy’s turn to interrupt, “You know what? I don’t know if you’re kidding or being ironic because chipmunks don’t talk.”  
  
Giselle furrowed her brow, feeling another thing building in her except this feeling wasn’t so good, “Well, not here they don’t.”  
  
Nancy forged her way forward, “So, in lieu of taking advice from a forest rodent, I just wanted to say that…uh, if it did work out and you decided to stay in New York, I would like to help.”  
  
Nancy fidgeted.  
  
“That’s very kind of you, Nancy. But Edward is coming for me.”  
  
_He has to._  
  
“But what if he doesn’t?” Nancy pressed.  
  
Giselle huffed, “Why do you keep saying that?”  
  
Nancy gently grabbed Lucy off of Giselle’s lap and set her on the ground before grabbing Giselle’s hands in a comforting way, “Because I see this every day. If a relationship has issues at the beginning, it usually doesn’t get any better.”  
  
Giselle ripped her hands away, “He is coming!”  
  
Nancy pushed unsure of why she was being so hard on this topic, “Giselle, I don’t think so. No.”  
  
Giselle looked at Nancy as if to say _who do you think you are_ , “Yes!”  
  
Nancy crossed her arms then, “I have to disagree. No.”  
  
“No?” Giselle asked feeling the emotion building further slowly starting to stand in a crouch.  
  
“No,” Nancy shouted, leaning back as Giselle slowly encroached on her personal space.  
  
“Is that the only word that you know? No?” Giselle’s voice gaining volume.  
  
“No!” Nancy said a little childishly.  
  
“Oh yeah?!” Giselle pointed at Nancy catching her repeating the word.  
  
“No,” Nancy tried to backtrack but only repeated the cursed word further. She stood trying to even the playing field. But she felt like a prey as the predator matched her every move to get away. “No, I mean. No-”  
  
Giselle kept yelling. “No! No!” each and every time Nancy said it, “Over and over again! Every word out of your mouth is ‘No.” it makes me so…” She started pacing back and forth away and to Nancy in anger, shaking her little fists. “Sometimes you make me so-”  
  
Nancy was confused and lowered her voice, “I make you so what?”  
  
“You make me so,” Giselle screamed before she paused finding the right word. “So…”  
  
Nancy watched Giselle’s face as it changed rapidly from fear to wonder, “ANGRY!”  
  
She turned toward Nancy and laughed with a squeak. “I’m angry!”  
  
Nancy is then convinced that Giselle got sick in the rain the other night and was finally developing an inevitable fever. She reached for Giselle to steady her.  
  
“I’m angry,” Giselle came to a realization and her joy at finding the new emotion turned into actual anger. “I’m angry!”  
  
Giselle bopped Nancy on her shoulder like a baby tiger who would one day become a fearsome beast. Her anger broke again and she willingly went into Nancy’s arms holding onto them for support.  
  
Nancy stared incredulously, “Are you okay?”  
  
Giselle finally calmed down and looked directly into Nancy’s eyes, “I’m — I’m wonderful.”  
  
“You sure?” Nancy searched Giselle’s eyes, not seeing the classic glaze over them that is typical in fever stricken women.  
  
“Yes. I'm fine…I'm fine,” Giselle felt herself being pulled deeper into Nancy's eyes finding it hard to collect her thoughts. “I'm...fit as a fiddle.”  
  
Nancy felt the falling sensation herself as Giselle’s hands came to rest just over the brunette’s heart. She leaned down toward Giselle's lips and —  
  
There was a knock at the door. They jumped back as if a cold bucket of water had been thrown over them.  
  
The knocking became more insistent, and Nancy groaned with a roll of her eyes. As she headed toward the door Nancy heard Giselle say softly, “Oh, my.”  
  
_Oh my, indeed._  
  
She wrenched the door open to find her order of Insomnia Cookies being presented to her by some college kid.  
  
“Here's your order, ma'am,” the kid squeaked out after being hit by the attractive woman’s glare.  
  
Nancy grabbed the cookies violently and threw the kid the money she left by the door for that very purpose.  
  
“Thanks,” she deadpanned when they caught the cash and she slammed the door in their face. When she turned around she was pushed up against the door. Nancy yelped in surprise when she felt lips kissing and nibbling on her long neck. For a moment she was pinned there in shock, warm cookies still in her hand.  
  
She quickly dropped them on the entryway table and ran her hands under the large shirt she loaned Giselle, grasping thin hips. She smirked when she felt rather than heard Giselle gasp into her neck. Nancy ran her hands up to an even thinner waist, lightly dragging her nails up butter soft skin.  
  
Giselle wasn’t sure what came over her when she pushed Nancy against the door. She just remembered the feeling of finally being angry. Giselle had felt the energy coming off of Nancy, it was almost like she was going to kiss Giselle. Her body thrummed at the idea of touching Nancy in any way, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to try kissing her just yet. As she stood there studying Nancy and her long neck that was accentuated by her hair being pulled up into a ponytail, Giselle could feel that anger morph into the feeling she had at Nancy’s bedroom doorway.  
  
Despite that, she was just as surprised as Nancy when she nipped her collar bone. She felt the need rise once more in her lower belly, tugging deeper when her bite caused Nancy to groan low in her throat.  
  
Through her lust-driven haze, a thought occurred to Nancy and she gently pushed Giselle by the ribs away from her.  
  
“Honey, wait.” Nancy’s voice strangled out. “Wait a minute. Let’s talk about this for a moment.”  
  
Giselle whimpered as Nancy finally let go of her ribs and extracted her hands from underneath Giselle’s top.  
  
Nancy went to pick up the cookies and Giselle lunged for Nancy’s neck again. Nancy put her hands on Giselle’s shoulders and pushed her at arm’s length with a narrowing of her eyes.  
  
_When this girl wants something, she certainly goes all out for it._  
  
Once Nancy had given her “the Look” for long enough and was certain Giselle wasn’t going to try anything again, she picked up the still warm cookies.  
  
She then turned Giselle around to the couch and steered her back toward it by her shoulder. She used the short walk over there to compose herself before sitting on the couch.  
  
Giselle was eerily silent as she sat down as well and took the cookie that was offered to her.  
  
“Now. You sit there and enjoy one of the best cookies you will ever have and hear me out.”  
  
Giselle meekly nibbled into her cookie and groaned at the taste.  
  
“Okay, so - “ Nancy started but as cut off by her own distraction at hearing Giselle groan. She tried again.  
  
“Have you ever done anything like that before?”  
  
Giselle shook her head indicating “no.”  
  
“And you think you are ready for that?” Nancy bit into her own cookie.  
  
Giselle swallowed some more cookie, “I’m not even sure what came over me. It’s like I couldn’t stop myself.”  
  
“Mhmm,” Nancy nodded sagely. “Just as I thought.”  
  
Giselle’s eyes widen, “What? What is it?”  
  
“I saw this many times while I was in college. You’ve obviously been sheltered your whole life. Now the barn door is wide open and all the horses have run out. Which is fine,” Nancy reassured her. “I just want you to be sure of what you want so you’re comfortable.”  
  
Nancy started cleaning up the remnants of their cookies and quirked an eyebrow at Giselle, “I will be there for you if you decide that’s really what you want.”  
  
Giselle started to respond and say she wanted it more than anything, but Nancy put her finger on Giselle’s lips to keep them closed.  
  
“However, I want you to sleep on it,” Nancy stood up to throw the trash away and looked down into Giselle’s sweet face. “I’ll wait for you for however long it takes.”  
  
Nancy went to throw the trash away and came back to Giselle who was still on the couch looking stunned.  
  
“By the way, if we do this, I will be bringing my A-game, if you know what I mean. I don’t want you regretting diving in too soon before you know what you’re getting into.” Nancy all but purred before she leaned down and kissed Giselle’s cheek.  
  
She sauntered off down the hallway, leaving Giselle mouth agape and barely breathing with another new feeling — frustration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me for leaving you (and Giselle) hanging!
> 
> What do you think is going to happen next? Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated!


	8. But Still So Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when Giselle knows what she wants, someone shows up and distracts her! Can this be the end of the road for Giselle and Nancy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry (late) Christmas, my friends! I was left to my own devices once everyone went to sleep and decided to get this next chapter up and formatted for AO3. I hope you all are having a nice holiday season and this is my gift to you.
> 
> As always I want to thank my darling girlfriend/editor @erica_bain for editing all of my errors and putting the words in the right order when I just can't.

Nancy woke up the next morning thoroughly rested. She couldn’t even remember the last time she felt that way. As she sat up in bed, her nose registered the smell of waffles and bacon.  
  
_Ooh and also coffee..._  
  
She made her way down the hall in slightly rumpled pajamas. When she glanced into her designing room, she saw Giselle had made a brand new dress out of another “borrowed” bolt of fabric. Nancy smiled with a shake of her head, already forgiving Giselle once more and continued to the dining room.  
  
“Good morning.”  
  
“Morning,” Giselle returned with a shy smile. One Nancy hadn’t seen yet.  
  
“I see you made breakfast. Thank you,” Nancy said as Giselle poured her a cup of coffee.  
  
Giselle nodded and sat down, about to start eating as well.  
  
“That’s, uh, a nice dress,” Nancy commented over her coffee cup, trying not to openly stare at Giselle’s exposed cleavage so much.  
  
Giselle had started fidgeting when she sat down. Her decision was weighing on her heavily. Nancy was being patient by sitting there eating her waffle silently.  
  
“Nancy, I just wanted to say —” Giselle started before being interrupted by a banging on Nancy’s front door.  
  
Nancy stood and said, “Now who the hell — ”  
  
“Giselle! It is I, Prince Edward of Andalasia come to rescue my lovely bride!”  
  
Giselle would recognize that voice anywhere. She stood and walked toward the door a little slower than she might have the day before. She was clearly shocked.  
  
“Edward — he’s here.”  
  
Nancy raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms immediately putting her walls back up.  
  
“Apparently.”  
  
Giselle became flustered. “Oh my. Oh my goodness. Oh, um, how do I look?”  
  
Nancy sighed still seated and not quite looking at Giselle, “Slightly stunned.”  
  
Giselle skipped over the dry humor.  
  
“No I mean how do I _look_ ,” She asked earnestly indicating her hair and dress.  
  
Nancy stood up and walked towards her to get a better look at her. She let out a breath once more and leaned against the wall in the living room as her mood darkened.  
  
“You look…beautiful.”  
  
Giselle smiled genuinely, and Nancy had the sinking feeling it would be the last time she would see that smile again.  
  
Edward had heard Giselle call out his name and was trying desperately to get into the apartment. Finally, he managed to kick down the door and flounced to Giselle.  
  
“Giselle!”  
  
“Edward,” Giselle responded, not very exuberantly.  
  
“Ah!” he exclaimed as he lifted her in the air and twirled her around.  
  
Nancy rolled her eyes with an exasperated huff. The subtle sound was apparently enough to snap Edward out of his moment of bliss. He set down Giselle and turned to Nancy as he pulled out his sword.  
  
“You!”  
  
“What??” Nancy asked in panic as Edward came after her. Before she could move away from the wall, he had her pinned against it with his sword at her neck.  
  
“You’re the witch who has been holding my Giselle captive!”  
  
“Let’s just stay calm...” Nancy insisted as she tried to keep her neck away from the sharp sword.  
  
Nancy vaguely heard Giselle shouting for Edward to stop but then he was talking to Nancy again, “Any last words before I dispatch you?”  
  
_Really? This is how my life ends? A crazy man with a sword?_  
  
“You have got to be kidding me!”  
  
“Strange words,” Edward said in puzzlement before he pulled his sword back, ready to strike Nancy who was cringing at this point.  
  
At the last second, Giselle threw herself in between Nancy and Edward.  
  
“No! No! No. She is my friend.”  
  
Nancy barely comprehended that she was no longer about to die by way of sword as she relished the feeling of Giselle pressed to her front trying to protect her. Nancy’s fingers curled around Giselle’s ribs automatically.  
  
“This is Nancy,” Giselle indicated to the woman behind her; a slight hitch in her breath as she registered Nancy’s fingers. “Nancy, this is Edward.”  
  
“I got that,” Nancy said bitterly, peeking out from behind Giselle.  
  
Edward had sheathed his sword with a shrug and was now twirling about.  
  
_“I’ve been dreaming of a true love’s kiss.”_  
  
Matter-of-factly, Nancy stated, “He sings too.”  
  
_“And a Miss I have begun to miss,” Edward continued singing uninterrupted: “Pure and sweet waiting to complete my love song. You’re the fairest maid I’ve ever met, who was made —”_  
  
Edward stopped there, staring at Giselle as if expecting something. What he was expecting neither Giselle or Nancy could quite put together.  
  
_Maybe a treat?_ Nancy snickered at her own wit.  
  
He tried again with less enthusiasm, _“Who was made —”_  
  
Giselle continued staring lost, shaking her head and waiting for him to get to the point.  
  
Edward transitioned into a panicked falsetto, _“To finish...”_  
  
“What’s wrong?” Giselle asked.  
  
“You’re not _singing_ ,” Edward replied almost sounding like a child.  
  
“Oh,” Giselle realized with a furrow of her brow. “I’m not. Well, I’m sorry. I was thinking.”  
  
Edward looked confused, as if he had no idea what she would need to think about.  
  
Giselle took a breath and stepped away from Nancy’s defensive embrace, “There _is_ one thing I would love to do.”  
  
_If I’m going back with you_ , Giselle thought to herself.  
  
Edward kneeled before Giselle, and Nancy couldn’t take it anymore. She stepped away from the love fest and curled her fingers into fists. As if, she could clench away the feeling of Giselle’s slight ribs beneath her light touch.  
  
“Name it, my love, and it is done.”  
  
“I want to go on a date.”  
  
“A date,” Edward said in joy before he realized he didn’t know what a date was. “What’s a date?”  
  
Giselle looked back toward Nancy for encouragement. Nancy was fully aware the Princess wouldn’t realize she was looking at a woman resigned to letting her go even though that was the last thing Nancy truly wanted. All Nancy allowed her to see was that macaron softness shining through, pushing Giselle toward the words her prince wanted to hear.  
  
The lost princess felt so torn in that instant. Go with what she knew and be safe or go out on a new adventure she never dreamed of having. Not knowing if she was meant for such a big adventure, she decided to give Edward one more shot.  
  
Circling back to his question, Giselle finally responded, “Well, we go out to dinner. And we talk about ourselves. Our likes and our dislikes. Our interests. A date.”  
  
Edward stood, “If its a date you want then a date you shall have!”  
  
He kissed her hand before turning towards Nancy, who he had nearly beheaded, “Will you be dating with us as well?”  
  
Nancy’s mouth was just opening and closing repeatedly with her eyes wide open. The thought of dating Giselle was a nice one.  
  
“That’s not how a date works, Edward. It’ll just be us,” Giselle cut in.  
  
“Oh! Well that’s a shame for she is truly a beauty,” Edward said.  
  
Nancy snapped out of her haze and looked to Giselle in disbelief, “Did he just make a pass at me?”  
  
Before Edward could question what that meant, Giselle changed the subject hastily, “I think we should be going now.”  
  
She started pushing Edward toward the front door he kicked down.  
  
“Well if you’re ever back in town, we’ll have to go out to dinner,” Nancy said sadly as she crossed her arms and followed Giselle slowly toward the door.  
  
“That would be lovely! And remember that you can come and visit Andalasia anytime.”  
  
“We’ll see each other soon. It’s not like we’re talking about — you know,” Nancy swallowed thickly. “Forever.”  
  
“And ever,” Giselle added wistfully.  
  
“So, uh, good luck on your date,” Nancy said with a sour taste in her mouth.  
  
Giselle had successfully pushed Edward, who was busy staring at himself in the reflection of his sword, out the the door when she turned to Nancy, “Are you not going to try and patch things up with Robert? It would be a shame to waste such a promising relationship.”  
  
“I think not,” Nancy responded darkly.  
  
“Oh dear, I hope I didn’t ruin your chance at a happily ever after,” Giselle said with concern.  
  
Nancy, seeing how upset she was, grabbed Giselle by her arms gently and looked her dead in the eyes, “Honey, don’t you worry about me. I think there was always something under the surface just waiting to be known. You just so happened to help push it along. I’m honestly grateful for having you here.”  
  
Giselle bit her lip and nodded.  
  
Nancy’s eyes immediately darted down as she realized they were standing in the doorway where not just 10 hours or so ago, Giselle had pinned her up against the now broken door. Her eyes roamed Giselle’s oval-shaped face; her thin lips, darling little nose, and, Nancy just noticed for the first time, small freckles underneath her right eye.  
  
It would have been an awkward silence with Nancy staring at Giselle’s face as she tried to implant the image in her mind’s eye if Giselle hadn’t been thinking of precisely the same thing.  
  
Giselle felt herself moving closer to Nancy and she realized this may be the last time she’d even see her again. She had so many things she want to say, to do, to discover...  
  
“Thank you for taking care of my bride, peasant,” Edward suddenly said right as he twirled back to them, not realizing how close they were standing to each other.  
  
Edward guided Giselle to the stairs and as they descended, Nancy stared at Giselle’s eyes, still locked on her own for as long as possible. Once Giselle was out of sight, Nancy scoffed at Edward’s line, “Peasant? More like Queen.”  
  
She turned back into her apartment and shut the damaged door as best she could.  
  
“Isn’t that right, Lucy,” she asked as she picked up her cat. “I am Queen of all I see and you are the little marshmallow protecting me.”  
  
She kissed Lucy on the head and set her down before going about her morning routine. She tried to push Giselle out of her mind, but she was everywhere. She smiled sadly as she stepped into the “magical shower.” She sighed theatrically as she passed by her ruined drapes with perfect cut outs of a dress pattern. She groaned as she went to lock her front door on the way out and couldn’t due to some brainless oaf kicking it in.  
  
As she walked down the street, she supposed she had to give the ridiculous fella some credit. She would kick down a door to get to Giselle too if she had to.  
  
_Hell, I’d fight a fire-breathing dragon._  
  
Nancy scoffed at her own silliness, half-wondering if she had gone completely insane.  
  
When she finally rolled into her design studio, she was painfully reminded that life would go on. Anna informed her the Dukes were waiting for her in the conference room.  
  
“By the way, you look hot, Boss,” Anna said with her usual lack of filter.  
  
“Anna, that is so unprofessional.”  
  
“What? You so do!”  
  
Nancy rolled her eyes and turned toward the conference room.  
  
“Oh my God! Did you sleep with her??” Anna basically yelled in her excitement.  
  
Multiple sets of eyes shot to the pair and Nancy quickly turned around in shock. The slight smiled that graced her features before was replaced with a thunderous stare.  
  
“Anna!” she reprimanded as she walked back to the front desk. In a panicked whisper she asked, “Could you please not yell out every thought that goes through your head about my personal life?”  
  
Anna held up her hands in surrender.  
  
“Okay, sorry! Geez.” Anna dropped her voice to a conspiratory whisper, “But you did get some didn’t you?”  
  
Nancy sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Anna…”  
  
“Ooh! Was it with that girl you brought in yesterday?”  
  
Nancy’s long-suffering look was wiped off and immediately replaced with a severe one. “Don’t talk about Giselle like that.”  
  
“Wow. You’re serious about this one aren’t you?”  
  
“I have no idea what you mean,” Nancy eased up on her severeness and shuffled her papers around. “And even if I did, it doesn’t matter. She’s gone off with her _betrothed_.”  
  
“You know,” Anna leaned toward her boss and placed her hand gently on Nancy’s. “The way she was looking at you yesterday makes me think he might not be what she wants anymore.”  
  
Nancy looked at her in confusion, “What do you mean ‘by the way she was looking at me’?”  
  
“Are you kidding,” Anny dropped her comforting, low tone as she threw her hands in the air. “Her eyes were glued to you whenever you were in the room.”  
  
Nancy straightened up her clothing and sniffed, “I highly doubt that.”  
  
As Nancy started to walk away again, Anna called out, “She’s not just another Gwen and I think you should give it a shot.”  
  
Nancy’s heart stung at hearing her ex’s name for only a moment before she pressed on muttering to herself, “That’s the last time I go out drinking with her.”  
  
Nancy put her personal life to the side and prepared herself for the fallout of the meeting with the Dukes from the day before.  
  
“I’m sorry I’m so late —” Nancy started to apologize as she walked into the room looking at her notes. She stopped when she looked and saw the Dukes snuggled up to each other as if they weren’t going through a bloody divorce.  
  
“Oh don’t worry about it, dear,” Colleen said dreamily.  
  
Nancy slowly set down her stuff on the table confused.  
  
“Are you two okay?”  
  
“Oh yes, of course,” Cecil chimed in. “I was just thinking about what that intriguing red-headed girl said about Colleen’s eyes sparkling. I mean, it’s the first thing I noticed when we met.”  
  
Colleen started to giggle.  
  
“Well, it’s true,” Cecil insisted. “Her eyes really do sparkle.”  
  
“Oh Cecil,” Colleen sighed and leaned in for a kiss.  
  
Nancy was in shock but she wasn’t about to let these two grown adults start a makeout session in her conference room.  
  
_I thought they hated each other..._  
  
“So you’re getting back together,” Nancy stated in a monotone voice rather than asked.  
  
“I’ve already started moving my things back into our apartment,” Cecil gleefully responded.  
  
“I feel so complete with him. Why would I ever let that go?” Colleen asked.  
  
It was so startling how different they were acting that Nancy just had to say something.  
  
“But - if I may, you can’t just let a chance encounter with someone—”  
  
“What if it wasn’t chance?” Colleen interrupted. “What if it was no accident, us meeting her?”  
  
Nancy became flustered and raised her voice, “But— you guys had problems!”  
  
“Everybody has problems. Everybody has bad times. Do we sacrifice all of the good times because of them?” Colleen pondered wistfully before answering her own question. “No.”  
  
The Dukes started tenderly kissing once more before Nancy really flipped her lid.  
  
“But you just met the girl yesterday! How could you let her sweep into your life, completely change your outlook, and--and then just sweep back out the door?”  
  
Nancy slammed her hands on the table before continuing full speed ahead, “That was very irresponsible for her to just change things and then leave like that! Without a trace! Without a way to stay in contact! She should be held accountable for the mess she left in her wake.”  
  
Nancy had been pacing back and forth, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped suddenly and yelled, “What!”  
  
Colleen just serenely smiled at this poor, unfortunate soul. She was lost and deserved some slack, “It sounds like you really miss her.”  
  
Nancy’s breaths were heaving, “What? What are you talking about?”  
  
“That girl,” Colleen said sweetly. “I may be an old fool woman but my eyes are still good. I saw the way you looked at her yesterday. Honestly, it made me jealous because it reminded me of how Cecil and I looked at each other when were younger.”  
  
“I am not in love with Giselle,” Nancy spat with a cross of her arms.  
  
Colleen quirked an eyebrow with a wry smile, “I never said you were.”  
  
Nancy bit her lip when she realized that she just gave herself away. She let out a deep sigh and unwound her body bracing it on the back of a chair.  
  
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway! Her ‘prince charming,’” Nancy said the phrase with disgust before continuing softly, “has come back. They’re probably on their way back to Andalasia now.”  
  
Cecil stood and joined his wife, “You’d be surprised. You might see her again. But in the meantime, you’ll be able to keep yourself busy on our new show.”  
  
Nancy snapped her head up, “I got the job?!”  
  
The Dukes nodded at her enthusiastically.  
  
“I got the job,” she repeated in disbelief. “Oh thank you so much! You won’t be disappointed.”  
  
“I think this is cause for celebration. Don’t you think, my love?” Cecil asked his wife.  
  
“I think you’re right,” Colleen turned to Nancy. “Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight and attend that ball I’ve heard so much about?”  
  
Nancy deflated a little as she remembered that Robert was supposed to take her.  
  
“I don’t really have a date.”  
  
She looked out at her staff in the studio and her eyes landed on her front desk girl, who was eating a sandwich with gusto.  
  
“But I think I’ll bring a friend.”  
  
“Excellent, my dear,” Cecil responded. “We’ll meet you at 21 around eight.”  
  
The Dukes strolled out of the conference room hand in hand. Nancy watched wistfully, thinking of all the times Giselle insisted on holding her hand. She rapidly blinked away her memories and headed towards Anna.  
  
“Hey Anna,” Nancy called out.  
  
“Huh,” Anna turned her head toward her name with a bit of her sandwich hanging out of her mouth.  
  
“How classy,” Nancy said sarcastically as she leaned her hip on the edge of Anna’s desk with crossed arms and a raised brow. “It’ no wonder no one has snatched you up yet.”  
  
“Hey!” Anna wiped her mouth off on her hand. “I haven’t eaten all day. Plus, it’s Friday and Hans wants to take me out tonight.”  
  
Nancy smirked.  
  
“Not on my watch he won’t. You’re coming with me to dinner with the Dukes and then you,” Nancy poked Anna’s chest, “are coming with me to the ball at the Woolworth building.”  
  
Anna had looked down at Nancy’s finger, which Nancy then flicked up to hit her nose. Nancy cackled. It worked every time.  
  
“Wait wait,” Anna rubbed her nose. “How do I always fall for that?”  
  
“You know, I’m not quite sure. But you are going to be my date tonight. My treat,” Nancy said with a wink and a smile.  
  
“But we don’t have dresses,” Anna panicked.  
  
“Honey. Look around you,” Nancy gestured to the costume shop they were in. “We’ll find us both something in here.”  
  
As Anna started talking about their busy night ahead, Nancy felt herself perk up a bit and she almost forgot about how much Giselle leaving hurt her.  
  
Almost.  
  
\-----  
  
While Giselle took Edward around the city, she was hoping to recreate the wonder and joy she felt when Nancy showed her around the city. But it just seemed like the spark wasn’t there. She tried really hard to enjoy herself, but it just wasn’t happening. Her emotions fell flat.  
  
So when Edward brought up Andalasia again, Giselle decided to make one last ditch effort to delay her return. Ignoring the real reason for this dread to return to her home, she chose instead to grasp onto the idea that attending the ball would finally restore the feelings she had for Edward.  
  
Maybe then she could stop thinking about missing Nancy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One step closer to the fireworks, folks! Watch your step ;)
> 
> As always, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!


	9. Here Be Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ball scene is finally happening and Nancy is ready to say goodbye to Giselle.... or is she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the second to last chapter guys unless I think of a bonus chapter! So please enjoy! As always, I would like to thank my editor and wonderful girlfriend, Erica_Bain, for all that she does for me.

As she was dancing at the ball, Nancy realized she was actually having a pretty good time despite her previously sour mood.  
  
Dinner with the Dukes was amazing — they even insisted on paying for the full course spread, something Nancy rarely treated herself to and that Robert certainly wouldn’t spring for. She had played it cool while Anna was in full “newb” mode, remarking on the copious silverware and nearly gagging at the mention of escargot.  
  
When they arrived at the ball, everyone had turned and gasped at Nancy’s Marie Antoinette-esque dress that she designed months ago for Halloween.  
  
Some people had even approached her asking who had made it. The Dukes were right there boasting for her like proud parents. She had a couple of business cards stashed away in her cleavage where she had sewn a handy little pocket, just in case she encountered people planning to commission their outfit for the next year’s ball. Turns out it was her lucky night, and she hadn’t even paid a thing to advertise.  
  
Nancy was truly enjoying herself — drinking, laughing, and dancing non-stop, for fear that when she slowed down, Giselle would come to the forefront of her mind again.  
  
But all the fun came to a screeching halt when Robert waltzed in to her party.  
  
“May I have this dance?”  
  
Nancy slowly turned to the familiar voice and looked down at the proffered hand with a scowl. From the view of his hand, she could see his shoes, which were totally not period accurate when paired with his jacket. Scanning up to his face, she realized he was somehow managing to look both sheepish and smug at the same time. She proceeded to take a lengthy sip from her brandy before she replied, simply:  
  
“No, you may not.”  
  
With that, she turned back toward the people she had been talking to when she spotted what she believed to be the unthinkable; Giselle standing at the top of the grand staircase in a stunning and surprisingly modern floor-length lavender dress.  
  
Nancy swallowed hard as she noticed Giselle’s jewel-laden, plunging neckline.  
  
_Nice touch. It’s all in the details..._  
  
She heard Robert grumble behind her.  
  
“What is she doing here?” He spat, nervously.  
  
Nancy didn’t even turn around. She was just too enraptured by the sight of Giselle and didn’t give a damn what Robert thought. Her smile was so wide it almost hurt.  
  
“I have no idea,” she responded in all honesty.  
  
Her smile dimmed only a little when she saw Edward was still accompanying Giselle. But as the couple headed toward Nancy, she realized Giselle hadn’t been able to take her eyes off of Nancy either.  
  
As Giselle approached, Nancy stated softly, “I’m surprised to see you here.”  
  
“I’m surprised myself. You said you couldn’t dance,” Giselle playfully shot back.  
  
Nancy smirked, “I said I didn’t. I never said I couldn’t.”  
  
“Yea the way you were moving around the floor earlier definitely made me a believer, Boss,” Anna chimed in. She had noticed Robert trying to talk with Nancy and decided to swoop in and cause problems — for Robert anyway. “I just wish I could have had my chance,” Anna continued.  
  
Nancy huffed and rolled her eyes playfully. Honestly, this kid could be jailbait if she hadn’t had her heart set on another.  
  
“I offered to dance with you but you said no,” Nancy reminded her.  
  
“Oh I much rather stay on the sidelines and watch,” Anna quipped with a wink. It was her favorite thing to flirt with her boss. They both knew it was harmless, but also way too much fun to forgo altogether.  
  
Giselle frowned a little bit as she watched the two women before her trade remarks and quips so freely. In her mind, there was obviously something between them — she just wasn’t sure what exactly. One moment it was like they were lovers, another moment as if they were best friends or even sisters. Giselle felt something sink in the pit of her stomach. It was a deep, painful ache that made her want to reach out to Nancy and never let her go. But then she remembered that she had already made her choice.  
  
Edward cleared his throat, unsure about the unusual display in front of him.  
  
“Oh. This is Edward. He’s my, um…” Giselle was reaching for the correct phrase but settled on, “prince.”  
  
Anna snorted. Nancy rolled her eyes once more and nudged her with a sharp elbow.  
  
“This is Anna. We’re -” Nancy truly wasn’t sure how she was supposed to introduce Anna.  
  
“She’s my boss who graciously invited me tonight.” Anna stepped up to answer with a curtsy.  
  
Edward continued the introductions, “And this beautiful lady is Giselle, the love of my life. My heart’s true desire.”  
  
Nancy groaned and finished her drink.  
  
Anna was astonished, “Wow.”  
  
“Is something wrong?” Edward asked, perplexed.  
  
“Just the way you said that. So straightforward. Not a hint of irony. It’s very romantic,” Anna complimented.  
  
“Well thank you.”  
  
While Nancy darted her hooded eyes rapidly from her assistant to the practically mythological prince, Robert pushed between Nancy and Anna to hold out his hand to Edward.  
  
Nancy sighed, realizing she was going to have to make this introduction as well.  
  
“This is Robert. He’s… well he’s —”  
  
Robert interrupted, “We’re together.”  
  
“Robert!” Nancy was stunned that he would be so bold after the shit he pulled.  
  
“Um, hold up!” Anna nearly shouted, whirling around to face Nancy’s ex. “I heard all of those terrible things you said to Nancy on the phone yesterday!”  
  
“Anna!” Nancy shouted as she felt like she was suddenly surrounded by misbehaving children. Between Giselle and Edward innocently mistepping, Anna being a well-meaning troublemaker, and Robert just being a little shit, she was going to need another drink.  
  
She looked around the room for more alcohol to pour down her throat to escape this wild conversation as Anna continued,“Nancy doesn’t need you, or me, or anybody! She is a queen and should be treated as such! For you to think you could just show up, not apologize and then act as if you were still dating her — uh-uh not in my house!”  
  
Nancy knew Anna was drunk, but she honestly couldn’t say she knew of a better way to put it.  
  
“Are you going to let an assistant talk to me like that?” Robert asked incredulously.  
  
“Oh but she’s so much more than _an assistant_. She’s _my_ assistant and my friend, and it just so happens she took the words right out of my mouth.” Nancy shrugged and turned away with a dangerous lilt in her tone.  
  
Robert scoffed and stomped away like a toddler.  
  
“Fight me!” Anna yelled to his retreating back.  
  
Nancy pulled away Anna’s glass from her hand and downed the rest of the champagne. Then she looked down at Anna.  
  
“You know, Anna. You say ‘fight me’ an awful lot for a 5’3” petite woman. Don’t think we won’t be talking about this incident later, including the little tidbit about you listening in on my personal calls.  
  
Anna turned back to Nancy with a sheepish smile, “Sorry Boss.”  
  
“Well folks, it’s that time of the night,” the MC stated smoothly over the mic. “I’d like to ask each person to invite someone they did not accompany this evening to dance the King and Queen’s Waltz.”  
  
“Well, that’s incredibly sexist,” Nancy stated as she set her and Anna’s empty glasses on a passing tray.  
  
“May I have the pleasure,” Edward asked as he held out his hand to Anna in a congenial manner.  
  
“Eh why the heck not,” Anna shrugged as Edward whisked her off.  
  
Nancy and Giselle awkwardly stood around, unsure of what to do. Giselle decided to go for it; after all, there’s no day but today, and she was going to spend the rest of her day dancing with Nancy for as long as she could.  
  
“Shall we?” Giselle asked hopefully.  
  
Nancy could only nod shyly in an uncharacteristic way. But then she forgot her shyness as Giselle gripped her waist and looked into her eyes. There, she saw the fire she had gotten a taste of the night before.  
  
It shocked her to her core to see such conflicting emotions in a woman who she thought of as the most innocent, pure and honest person.  
  
She tried to stay focused on reality and the facts. Giselle was leaving with Edward. She loved Edward. But the more Giselle led her around the dance floor, the deeper she fell into those sparkling blue eyes and sweet smile. Nancy loved that color blue. It would make the most beautiful shade for one of the costumes she was thinking of designing. But she knew no matter how far she searched, there would be no way to match the vibrancy of blue emanating from Giselle’s eyes.  
  
But then, like all good things, their dance was over.  
  
“Mind if I cut in?” Edward asked bluntly.  
  
It was then Nancy realized there was a live singer, and the next line hit her like a dagger through the heart:  
  
_“Almost believing this one’s not pretend...”_  
  
Nancy let go of Giselle as she pulled away and responded to Edward, “No, of course.”  
  
Nancy watched them head toward the exit as she was left alone in the middle of the dance floor.  
  
She turned away from the sight and missed Giselle looking back longingly at her.  
  
Nancy was back at the bar, already nursing another brandy when she felt something tap against her shoe. It was an apple with a perfect bite taken out of it.  
  
She was looking around in confusion in the direction it came from when she heard Edward call out to the crowd, “Somebody help me please!”  
  
Nancy headed straight toward him once she realized that he was carrying a very pale and limp Giselle bridal style. On her way over, she handed her phone to Anna, who was already looking for her.  
  
“Call 9-1-1.”  
  
She reached Giselle’s side in record time, not even questioning who the sexy older woman was or what she was wearing or why she was standing over the whole group trying to falsely assuage their fears.  
  
“Giselle,” Nancy softly said her name when she saw her eyes closed. She knelt at Giselle’s side and gently swept her hair away from her pallid face, running her hand softly over the young woman’s head. This was the most helpless Nancy had ever felt. She heard Anna calling for an ambulance, but she realized it would be hard asking for help when they had no idea what happened.  
  
“She fainted.” The dark woman stated matter of factly. “But she’ll be fine.”  
  
“I’m sorry but who the hell are you?” Nancy was getting annoyed with this lady’s fake tone.  
  
“I am Queen Narissa of Andalasia and Edward’s mother,” Narissa pulled her shoulders back and held her head high. “Who the hell are _you?_ ”  
  
“I am Nancy Tremaine of Queens, New York and Giselle’s...” Nancy paused not sure how to introduce herself in relation to Giselle. “...friend. I am her friend. Now what happened to her? Did you see?”  
  
“I told you, she fainted.”  
  
“No she didn’t!” Exclaimed a stout man who Nancy vaguely recognized from her walk with Giselle through Central Park. _He had given her an apple..._  
  
“Now who the hell is _this_ guy?” Anna shouted out, having just hung up with the 9-1-1 dispatcher.  
  
“Nathaniel, go back to the car,” Queen Narissa hissed threateningly.  
  
“I will not.” The man, apparently Nathaniel, stood his ground. “ _You_ poisoned her. She’s the evil hag, sire!”  
  
“You did this?” Edward asked his stepmother in disbelief.  
  
“She sent the girl here. She poisoned her! With my help,” here, Nathaniel looked sorrowful before continuing, “I regret to say.”  
  
“Oh he’s lying, darling,” Queen Narissa tried to brush all of the accusations away, dismissing them as silliness. “Why would I ever align myself with that buffoon? I mean, think about it. Why —”  
  
“Silence!” Edward yelled at his stepmother.  
  
By the look on Queen Narissa’s face, he had never dared to do that before.  
  
As he advanced toward her, he continued, “You lying, murderous wretch! When we return home, Andalasia shall know of your treachery. Your days as queen will be over!”  
  
Queen Narissa’s eyes widened and Nancy thought she saw murder in her eyes, “Take my crown? Don’t you think that’s being melodramatic, dear?”  
  
Edward took a deep breath and stated with all the haughtiness of a royal, “I don’t know what ‘melodramatic’ means, but you’ll be removed from the throne, Narissa. I will see to it.”  
  
Narissa actually hissed at Edward, who had flinched before ignoring her completely to tend to Giselle. He also knelt by her side, the picture of a worried prince at the bedside of his soon-to-be princess.  
  
Nancy couldn’t believe what she saw next. Narissa was softly chanting something in what sounded like Latin as her fingertips crackled with green light. Edward seemed to go into a painful trance.  
  
“That’s enough from you,” Nathaniel spat as he grabbed Edward’s sword and put it to Narissa’s throat. “You viper.”  
  
“We have to help her...what can we do?” Edward asked after he snapped out of the trance.  
  
“I don’t know,” Nancy stated kneeling on Giselle’s other side still. She looked to Nathaniel. “What do we do?”  
  
“There’s no way of helping her,” Nathaniel despaired. “She’s done for.”  
  
Nancy’s eyes dropped back to Giselle. The thought hit her immediately. Poison apple. Evil Queen. Prince.  
  
“True Love’s Kiss,” she whispered out loud as she looked to Edward.  
  
“What?”  
  
Nancy looked back to Giselle’s peaceful face and softly continued as she repeated the words Giselle once said to her, “It’s the most powerful thing in the world.”  
  
“Yes. Yes, of course!” Edward stood up to come around to the other side of Giselle.  
  
Nancy had been staring at Giselle’s lips before she smoothly twirled away from her. Her prince must be the one to do it.  
  
“I knew that,” Edward said out loud trying to convince himself.  
  
He slowly leaned in for a gentle kiss upon her almost gray lips and -  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Nancy blinked and cocked her head in confusion. That should have worked.  
  
Edward was just as confused as she was and tried again. And again. Several more times he tried, becoming more desperate with each failed attempt before shouting, “It’s not working!”  
  
The old clock on the wall struck.  
  
_One_.  
  
Narissa started laughing.  
  
_Two_.  
  
“You’ll never save her now. When the clock strikes 12 —”  
  
_Three_.  
  
“She’ll be dead,” Narissa finished.  
_Four_.  
  
Edward paused in thought before whispering, “Unless…”  
  
He looked towards Nancy  
  
“Unless?” Nancy was not following his train of thought.  
  
_Five_.  
  
She quickly caught up. She stared at Giselle’s still body, unable to take her eyes off of her. She almost looked like she was sleeping. But could it be?  
  
“It’s not possible. It couldn’t be me,” Nancy refuted.  
  
Edward bounded over to her, “But don’t you see!”  
  
“I’ve only known her a few days,” Nancy wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince.  
  
_Six_.  
  
“Just kiss her, Nancy,” Robert’s voice cut through the mayhem.  
  
Nancy looked over to him, bewildered. She wasn’t even aware that he was still in the building, let alone that he had witnessed this whole display. Nancy looked at him more closely and all she could see was resignation and acceptance.  
  
Robert continued, “It’s okay.”  
  
_Seven_.  
  
Nancy looked away from Robert and back to Edward. He gave a slight nod encouraging Nancy. She resumed her previous position of kneeling by Giselle’s side.  
  
_Eight_.  
  
Everyone else fell away. She placed the back of her fingers to Giselle’s cold cheek. This woman came into her life so suddenly that Nancy didn’t have a chance to sit and really look at her. She was always whipping her head around looking here and there at the new sights and sounds she had never experienced before. Even in her sleep, Nancy had always noticed a slight look of wonder. Her face had shown awe, sadness, wonder, excitement, confusion, joy, and, yes, even anger for a moment there, but it was never completely at rest like it was now.  
  
“Please,” Nancy begged.  
  
_Nine_.  
  
“Don’t leave me.”  
  
_Ten_.  
  
Nancy leaned down slowly as she gently brought Giselle to her by supporting the back of her neck. She still was not sure it would work.  
  
_Eleven_.  
  
Her lips gently touched Giselle’s.  
  
_Twelve_.  
  
Nancy pulled away looking at Giselle, praying for some form of movement. Seconds crawled by, or maybe it was minutes, Nancy wasn’t sure. She had just about given up hope when suddenly the color returned to Giselle’s body and she gasped in a breath.  
  
Giselle blinked rapidly, trying to focus her thoughts as her fingers grasped at something soft and warm. The last thing she remembered was being offered an apple to forget everything about New York City and then —  
  
Her gaze focused and she looked up into the most beautiful brown eyes that she had seen before once upon a dream. And for the first time, she realized to whom they really belonged.  
  
“I knew it was you,” Giselle stated as her left hand came up from grasping at Nancy’s ribcage to caressing her strong jaw.  
  
She leaned up for another kiss desperate to feel her lips on her own once more before Nancy wrapped her arms around Giselle and held her tight.  
  
“I thought I lost you there for a second,” Nancy choked out as she stroked Giselle’s hair.  
  
As she reveled in having Giselle back, she vaguely heard applause mixed in with some chatter.  
  
“What did you think?” Cecil Duke asked his wife.  
  
“Wonderful,” Colleen responded. “Oh, much better than last year's show. I had no idea Nancy was also an actor in her spare time.”  
  
“No!”  
  
A shout followed by maniacal laughter interrupted their short reunion. Narissa had wrestled Edward’s sword from Nathaniel’s hand while he was distracted. Giselle scampered behind Nancy who stood up tall with her shoulders back to block Giselle from the ever-moving panther that was Narissa.  
  
Nancy felt Giselle curl into her back and she never felt so alive. Her heart pounded as her instincts detected the danger in front of her and the lithely woman who was pressing her full body to her back.  
  
“The most powerful thing in the world,” Narissa mocked Nancy’s earlier words with a scoff.  
  
“I don’t think so. You have no idea who you are dealing with,” she threatened as she backed down the stairs all the while keeping the sword pointed at them. Regardless, Nathaniel and Edward were slowly descending the steps to stop whatever plan she had in that wingnut brain of hers.  
  
Narissa tilted her head toward the Dukes but never let her eyes leave the band of idiots in front of her, “You want a show? I’ll give you a show.”  
  
She finally broke eye contact with Giselle and started pointing the sword in a lazy circle growling at the peons in her way, “Back up and get ready for the main event!”  
  
With Narissa’s back turned, Edward and Nathaniel felt it safe to run after her, the former henchman cursing the witch the whole way, “You selfish, evil bi —”  
  
Narissa started to shout what sounded like another spell, “Speciosus, formosus, praeclarus!”  
  
With a stab of the sword into the parquet floor, flames burst from Narissa. Right before Nancy’s eyes the sexy crazy lady turned into a talking dragon. All she could do was stare and shield Giselle as best she could.  
  
“All this nauseating talk of ‘true love's kiss.’ It really does bring out the worst in me,” Narissa, the now massive dragon stalked closer.  
  
“Stay back,” Nancy whispered to Giselle. She honestly didn’t know what she would do if a _dragon_ attacked her but she wasn’t just about to lay there and take it, fire-breathing skills or not.  
  
Narissa began to rant like a James Bond villain who spills all their secrets, “You know, I've been thinking. If I'm going to remain queen, I'm going to need some sort of story when I go back. Hmm. What if a giant, vicious beast showed up and killed everyone? And poor, defenseless Queen Narissa, she just couldn't save them. Let's begin with the girl who started it all, shall we?”  
  
Nancy felt Giselle shake with fear and grasp at her ribs harder with a gasp. She just got her princess back — she wasn’t about to lose her again. Nancy needed to be brave for Giselle.  
  
“Over my dead body,” she spat.  
  
Narissa paused before giving her dragon shoulders a shrug, “All right. I’m flexible.”  
  
With that, Narissa grabbed the brunette in her menacing claw, and Nancy immediately started yelling her head off and struggling hard as Narissa made her way toward the balcony outside, hissing at anyone in her way.  
  
As Giselle watched the last of Narissa’s tail slink out of view, she felt panic starting to take hold of her body. She had tried earlier to forget New York, forget Nancy. As if she could so easily get rid of all that Nancy meant to her with a single bite from an apple. But if she couldn’t have Nancy, she definitely didn’t want the joyful memories mocking her for the rest of her life. She had to leave Nancy in New York or else be doomed to live a life of “what if’s.” When she had opened her eyes to see those brooding brown orbs from her dream staring back at her, she knew that she would never let Nancy go again.  
  
Giselle had to do something, anything to save Nancy. She didn’t have a plan. Just the burning desire in her heart to get Nancy back.  
  
She ran down the stairs and when she reached the end, Giselle came to the conclusion that she probably shouldn’t try and rescue Nancy in heels. As she paused to remove the inconvenient footwear, she saw the sword in the middle of the dance floor. Before an idea fully formed in her head, she grabbed the sword and ran outside into the rain, not realizing that she had dropped one of her shoes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here be dragons, indeed! I have one more chapter to go after this I think. But please feel free to leave comments or constructive criticism below!


	10. Release the Tiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have slain the dragon but what is next for our heroines? Pure smut, my friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting what just might be the last chapter. I haven't decided yet. But buckle up, kiddos because this is the chapter that definitely earns the M rating. Not interested? Don't read it.

Nancy was in heaven. There was no other way of explaining her situation. She must have been taken down with that evil sorceress, who had transfigured herself into a dragon, and fallen to her death.  
  
How else could one explain the situation she was in?  
  
Nancy was once more pinned to her front door by a slip of a woman. Not just any woman, the woman of her dreams.  
  
“Ungh...Giselle...”  
  
The sigh of her name fell from Nancy's lips as a prayer, a plea, an exultation.  
  
Gisle hummed in acknowledgement against Nancy's neck where she was all but worshipping at the church of Nancy's body.  
  
_When the evil Narissa had fallen off the building in the pouring rain, Giselle was afraid Nancy would go with her. She would rather jump to catch Nancy and go down with her than the bleak alternative.  
  
So she jumped.  
  
And as they sat there in the rain on the edge of the roof, Giselle knew she would do it again in a heartbeat._  
  
Her name being chanted over and over brought Giselle back to the moment.  
  
She placed one last delicate kiss to Nancy's neck where it met her shoulder before pulling back to look at her queen.  
  
“Yes, my love?”  
  
Nancy's stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies. She looked down in her heels at Giselle who stood barefoot in the foyer having lost her shoes somewhere along the way of fighting a dragon.  
  
_They had managed to get off the Woolworth building and made their way to Times Square so Giselle could say goodbye.  
  
Pip was leaving.  
  
Of course they would always be the best of friends, but Giselle dared not to ask Pip to stay in a land where he couldn't use his voice. So they decided they would visit Andalasia once everything was settled.  
  
Even though Giselle understood why he left, it didn't make it any easier. She had started silently crying as she held her hands out for him to climb onto like a platform then lifted him to her cheek. There he hugged her and gave her the tiniest of kisses.  
  
Nancy watched the whole thing in solemn understanding before Pip actually jumped onto her shoulder. At first he started shaking his finger and chattering at her.  
  
“He says, 'You better be good to Giselle or I will come back here and personally kick your—’ Pip! That is not very nice!” Giselle reprimanded.  
  
Nancy chuckled, “He's just being protective of you. I can understand that.”  
  
She reached for Pip and put him in her palm like Giselle had.  
  
“Listen, Pip. I--” Nancy stopped talking and stood up straight looking into the middle distance. “I still can't believe I'm talking to a chipmunk.”  
  
She looked back to Pip and they both shrugged.  
  
“Pip, I promise to take care of Giselle. Thank you for being the best friend she could ever need.”  
  
She brought Pip close to her face and gently kissed the top of his head. When she moved her hands back a bit to look at him, Pip looked a bit dazed.  
  
Nancy laughed lightly and looked to Giselle who had a teary smile on. Nancy smiled back gently. It was then that she felt Pip kiss her cheek with a hug.  
  
Giselle slid her arm around Nancy's waist as they stepped up to the manhole. Pip straightened up, saluted them both, and did a backflip off of Nancy's hand.  
  
It wasn't until they turned to the sidewalk that they noticed Giselle wasn't wearing any shoes.  
  
Nancy chuckled as they stood there with Giselle’s head on her shoulder.  
  
“Just like Cinderella.”  
  
“Oh! You know Ella too! She was such a great leader for her people. She was especially an outspoken advocate for giants’ and elves’ rights.”  
  
Nancy just looked down at Giselle who looked back with such earnestness and love. “Will you ever stop amazing me?”_  
  
Nancy came back to where she was, pinned against her own front door and repeated the question.  
  
Giselle, who had been staring at Nancy with lust, slowly broke into her crinkle-eyed grin, placing kisses on Nancy’s neck. With each pause, she nipped her way to Nancy’s sharp jawbone. “I sure hope not...I plan...on always...keeping you...on your...toes.”  
  
Nancy groaned as she felt Giselle’s teeth catching on the corner of her jaw and heard the promise of burning passion in her voice. But instead of kissing back, Nancy gathered her strength and pushed Giselle away gently wanting to look into her eyes. Those beautiful, blue eyes that made her feel like she could do anything in the world; like climb a mountain or win a Tony.  
  
Giselle had whimpered a bit when she was pushed away. She had her eyes screwed shut in the temporary displeasure. She gently opened her eyes through the haze of whatever she was feeling. Looking back at her were the familiar eyes she had seen in her dream. She smiled lazily at Nancy.  
  
“What?”  
  
Nancy looked closer at Giselle’s eyes.  
  
“I’m just checking that you aren’t just acting out of lust, or some misplaced hero worship because I rescued you.”  
  
Giselle’s brow furrowed. She did not like the sound of that. But then she smirked.  
  
“Last I checked, _I_ saved _you_ from the evil dragon.”  
  
Giselle poked Nancy’s chest exposed by the cut of her dress.  
  
Nancy’s eyebrows shot up at the unexpected swagger coming from Giselle. That was new.  
  
“Oh yea? And how would you have managed that if I hadn’t kissed you awake?”  
  
Giselle paused for a moment thinking as Nancy smirked.  
  
“I would have found a way.”  
  
They both laughed.  
  
“Nancy?”  
  
“Hmm?” She responded still pinned to the door.  
  
“What is lust?”  
  
“Oh! Uh…well, it’s — uh, a really strong sexual desire for someone.”  
  
“And why would that be bad if I was acting out of my lust for you?”  
  
Giselle bit her lip and looked up at Nancy through her long and narrowed eyelashes.  
  
Nancy was distracted watching her teeth bite into the dainty lip, wanting to do the very same thing.  
  
“Well, ahem, lust usually comes from a place purely physical and not necessarily from a place of emotions.”  
  
“I don’t see why I can’t lust for you as well as love you.”  
  
Giselle looked up at Nancy with her big eyes pleading for Nancy to understand.  
  
“In my experience, it’s either one or the other. Never both,” Nancy stated bitterly looking over Giselle’s head in thought. She was startled when she felt those very same teeth she had been looking at earlier suddenly bite into her earlobe.  
  
“That’s gonna change if I have any say in the matter.”  
  
Nacy could feel herself getting wet just from the tone of voice Giselle used and the implications of her declaration. She let out a low groan as she felt Giselle’s hands move to her breasts; grasping them firmly.  
  
“I know I came to this land completely unaware of how things work. But in these last few days, you have taught me so much. You have opened my eyes. Made me want to explore all the opportunities presented to me.”  
  
As she had been speaking, Giselle was slowly massaging Nancy’s breasts in slow, deliberate circles. Unbeknownst to her, they were one of Nancy’s most sensitive erogenous zones. Nancy had since let her head fall back against the door as Giselle murmured in her ear and continued her speech.  
  
“You also made me realize that I wouldn’t have a full life without ever tasting your lips, running my fingers through your hair, or feeling your whole body pressed to mine.”  
  
Nancy’s breath hitched and her eyes popped open unable to even form a response as Giselle did exactly that, pinning her further to the door. Giselle smiled confidently seeing the effect just her words had on Nancy. She wondered how she would react to being touched. She finished her speech.  
  
“So I don’t want you to ever think you are taking advantage of my perceived innocence. I may be new to this, but I know what I want.”  
  
Giselle looked Nancy straight in the eye with determination. Nancy knew then that she had underestimated the woman in front of her. Her hands that were resting on Giselle’s hips slid around to the back of the dress. One hand rested on the swell of Giselle’s ass as the other slowly made its way up to the exposed back of the dress.  
  
“Is that so?”  
  
Giselle nodded leaning forward to kiss Nancy but was stopped by a lip at her fingers and the words from Nancy’s mouth.  
  
“And do you think I’m going to just go down without a fight?”  
  
Nancy snatched Giselle up in her arms and carried her over her shoulder down the hall towards her room.  
  
Giselle squeaked in surprise. She was brave stating her desires to Nancy, but now they were actually coming true. She felt a flicker of doubt — not in her desires, but in her own abilities. She had never done this before with a woman or a man. Nancy had been with Robert and at least one woman, if not more. And it hadn’t been too long since she had believed that people should only kiss when they were in love — nothing more. But she knew as she was being carried away by her True Lover, there were so many more ways to show her love. But what if she wasn’t good at it? What if Nancy laughed at her? She twisted around awkwardly to glance at the back of Nancy’s head and hushed that fear. Nancy would never laugh at her in spite.  
  
_And besides, we’ve already gone past kissing_ , Giselle smirked to herself.  
  
When they reached the bedroom, Nancy set Giselle down on the bed. She looked at Giselle’s face and could see the fear and doubt swirling around her mind and in her eyes. She leaned down, looking her in the eye. Being that Nancy was no longer pinned to a door with a nymph ravaging her body, she was able to compose herself on the short walk to her bed. She smirked confidently at Giselle.  
  
“Don’t worry, baby. I am going to take such good care of you. Let’s get you out of that dress.”  
  
A thrill went through Giselle at the simple term of endearment. She stood up and Nancy helped her out of the slip of a dress. The smooth material sliding against her sensitive skin wrenched a small moan from her lips.  
  
Nancy stepped back and removed the front panel of her own dress that consisted of frills and hid the lacing that tied the dress into place. She shrugged out of the arms, shimmied the dress past her hips to the floor, and stepped out of it. Giselle watched the whole methodical process with interest as Nancy picked up the dress and laid it flat across a nearby chair.  
  
Giselle couldn’t help but stare at Nancy’s gorgeous body on display in front of her. Nancy’s broad shoulders tapered down to her beautiful chest. Giselle darted her tongue across her bottom lip unconsciously. Like herself, Nancy had foregone a bra much to the delight of Giselle. She was so entranced that she did not notice Nancy doing the exact same.  
  
“I am going to take out these pins in my hair and I’ll be right back, okay?”  
  
Nancy saw the look of hurt flash across Giselle’s face. She walked over to Giselle and grasped her chin with her thumb and forefinger tilting Giselle’s face up to hers.  
  
“I’m not delaying this experience for you because I am disinterested or bored. I just want both of us to enjoy your first time and relax. There's plenty of time for us, honey.”  
  
Nancy dropped a light kiss on Giselle’s lips and walked down the hall to the bathroom, taking the pins out of her hair as she went. She felt the familiar brush of fur against her legs.  
  
“Hello, baby girl. Did you have a good night?”  
  
“Meow.” Lucy responded quietly.  
  
“Me too. You’re going to have a second mama around to spoil you rotten.”  
  
Lucy jumped up on the closed lid of the toilet seat and settled down watching Nancy while purring at the idea.  
  
“Now, I’m going to have some alone time with her tonight so you be a good kitty.”  
  
Giselle smiled as she heard Nancy babbling on to Lucy as if she was a human child. She walked around Nancy’s room as she looked at the various knick-knacks and jewelry, noting how much the room reflected Nancy’s personality. The place was absolutely pristine with bright colors and silver cosmetic cases. But also it had touches of a quirky personality that shone through in objects such as a stuffed Minnie Mouse dressed like the Statue of Liberty.  
  
Giselle slipped into Nancy’s bed while pondering the state of her own mind. She was wondering what had overcome her the last couple of days or even just the night before when she had pinned Nancy against the front door in a fit of what she now knew to be lust. She remembered the same confident smirk Nancy had thrown at her when she told Giselle to think about what she truly wanted first.  
  
At the time, she was frustrated that Nancy couldn’t see that it was sincere. She was fully prepared to tell Nancy the very next morning. But that’s when Edward had shown up with his lousy timing. She was glad then Nancy had to her to wait. If they had done anything and then Edward rescued her the very next day, her first time with Nancy would be spoiled with guilt.  
  
Nancy could see the war going on inside Giselle and was wise enough to insist they slow down.  
  
Things had certainly changed since that morning. Robert was officially out of Nancy’s life and Edward was probably on his way back to Andalasia. Nothing and no one was going to stop her from getting what she wanted.  
  
Nancy had finished feeding Lucy and walked back down her hallway to find Giselle in her bed, deep in thought. She had never seen a sight that pleased her more.  
  
“It looks like a lost princess has found her way into my bed. Whatever shall I do with her?”  
  
Nancy joked as she slipped into bed next to Giselle.  
  
Giselle rolled over toward Nancy. She propped her head up and traced Nancy’s collarbone delicately with her finger.  
  
“I suggest you don’t question a good thing and follow through on your promise to take good care of me.”  
  
Giselle stopped following her finger on Nancy’s collarbone with her eyes and flicked them up to Nancy’s own. Giselle raised an eyebrow in challenge and savored Nancy’s stunned expression.  
  
Nancy lunged forward pressing her lips to Giselle’s. Giselle let out a moan. Finally, it was happening. She was so happy she threw her head back and let out a deep chuckle.  
  
Nancy didn’t let the laugh interrupt her attack on Giselle’s body. She moved her lips over Giselle’s jaw making her way to her ear. She took Giselle’s earlobe into her mouth and gently sucked. Her hands roamed Giselle’s body mapping and logging everything.  
  
Like when Nancy brushed Giselle’s ribs, a gasp flew out of her mouth. When she ran her fingers down the plane of Giselle’s stomach she stopped breathing for a moment. When she ran her hands over Giselle’s breasts she let out a moan before biting her lip. These reactions were similar to many she had heard over the past two days, but finally in the context she desired. Nancy stored the beautiful sounds away in her brain to be tested and explored later.  
  
Nancy dipped her head to one exposed nipple and carefully licked it. What she got in response made her incredibly wet, if she wasn’t already. Giselle sucked in her breath sharply and exhaled it deeply with a prolonged, “Yessss.”  
  
Nancy groaned in response.  
  
“That’s right, honey. I want to make you feel so good.”  
  
Nancy dipped her head back to the nipple before bringing her hand up to the other waiting breast. She continued licking and sucking the one nipple as she rolled the other breast in her hand, squeezing occasionally.  
  
Giselle had never felt this good in her life. Nancy was doing such amazing things to her body she was having a hard time believing Nancy wasn’t a sorceress of some kind with those hands.  
  
Nancy switched her ministrations with her mouth to Giselle’s other breast as she slowly drifted her other hand down beneath Giselle’s chest. There, she spanned the dainty ribs with her hand and gave them a squeeze, wondering at their slimness.  
  
Nancy’s hand drifted lower across the plane of Giselle’s taut, flat stomach once more. She made a light circle around Giselle’s belly button.  
  
Giselle moaned and Nancy’s eyebrows flicked up in surprise.  
  
_That’s certainly interesting._  
  
Nancy moved her hand lower still until she reached a patch of curly hair. She ran her hand over the top back and forth, top to bottom and back again. She watched transfixed at the sight before her, looking to Giselle’s eyes with a silent request for permission. Giselle had been watching as well, just as mesmerized. She looked back into Nancy’s eyes and simply nodded.  
  
Giselle knew she was in good hands.  
  
Nancy ran her middle finger through the patch as she continued to stare into Giselle’s eyes. She felt the hair give way to a shockingly wet pussy.  
  
Giselle and Nancy groaned in unison. Giselle threw her head back once more and closed her eyes. Nancy continued watching her face as she trailed her finger through the folds and back up to the exact spot she was needed most.  
  
Nancy circled the little nub slowly spreading the wetness she had found.  
  
Giselle began to squirm under Nancy’s body feeling the tingling she had felt when she saw Nancy on top of her bed the other night with her hand down her pants. Her eyes popped open and her head snapped up again. In the crazy rush of things she had almost forgotten what she saw.  
  
“Is this what you were doing to yourself the other night?”  
  
Nancy paused in confusion, unsure of what Giselle was talking about. She didn’t get a chance to respond.  
  
“I saw you the other night on top of the bed after I showered.”  
  
Nancy flushed embarrassed. Now Giselle was going to think she was some kind of lech. She started to kick herself and tried to come up with something to say. Once again, she hadn’t needed to respond.  
  
“I had no clue what you were doing but I tried it for myself right there in your doorway. It almost scared me how good it felt. Then I heard you say my name. It was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. I want to hear it again tonight.”  
  
Nancy was dumbfounded. She had a little voyeur on her hands.  
  
Giselle’s gaze drilled into her as a silent demand.  
  
_Don’t you dare stop now._  
  
Nancy let out a shuddering breath at the look in Giselle’s eyes. She continued circling Giselle’s clit at a faster pace. She slowly worked Giselle back into a whimpering mess and she hadn’t even touched her directly.  
  
“And when you watched me touching myself and thinking of you, how did it feel?”  
  
She decided that Giselle had been strung tightly enough. Nancy could feel it in the way Giselle’s body was clenching tighter and tighter. She moved her finger gently over the swollen nub.  
  
It was like a live wire touched Giselle as her hips bucked up into Nancy’s hand, and the little redhead squealed, “OH — ohhh my...it felt so good to see you like that, Nancy...”  
  
Nancy’s lip curled in a self-satisfied smirk. She dipped back into Giselle’s wetness and brought up more as she worked Giselle closer to her first orgasm at the hands of her True Love.  
  
Giselle moaned deeply. She was being driven into insanity. She was sure of it. She felt so good. Something kept building inside of her but she wasn’t sure what. She felt like she was being pushed to the edge of a cliff but she wasn’t sure what lay below except —  
  
“More.”  
  
The word escaped her lips without her permission.  
  
Nancy hummed as she continued to tease Giselle’s clit.  
  
“What was that, honey?”  
  
Giselle was panting and started rocking her hips.  
  
“I...said. More.”  
  
“As you wish.”  
  
Nancy slipped her middle finger down to Giselle’s folds and quickly found her opening. She waited there, however, and slowly ran her finger over and around it.  
  
“If you want me to stop or if anything is the matter just tell me okay?”  
  
Giselle growled low in her chest before sitting straight up. Nancy had to sit back unexpectedly so they didn’t hit their foreheads together.  
  
“Nancy. I appreciate your tenderness and your care but if you don’t finish me off soon, I will scream.”  
  
Giselle ended her speech by grabbing Nancy by the back of her head and shoving her mouth onto hers in a rough kiss. She ended the kiss with a nip at Nancy’s lower lip and then flopped onto her back awaiting the return of Nancy’s delicious finger. Nancy reflected that Giselle was a woman of her word. She had kept Nancy on her toes the whole time.  
  
“All right then, Princess.” She wasted no further time, looking into her eyes and easing her finger into Giselle.  
  
Nancy moaned as she heard her lover squeal again and felt Giselle’s incredibly tight entrance clench around her finger before she relaxed. It had been awhile since Nancy had been with a woman. She forgot how addicting this feeling could be. Nancy peeked at Giselle’s face. When she saw it was relaxed and blissful, she slowly started moving her finger back out. The ample foreplay had ensured it was easy for Nancy to work her magic, sliding in and out with ease. She began to thrust into Giselle faster.  
  
When she added a second finger Giselle hissed.  
  
“Oh, Nancy. You feel so good.”  
  
Nancy bit her lip as she felt more wetness pool between her legs. She tried rubbing her legs together to get some sort of friction and ease the tension there that was building like a raging fire. Then she got an idea.  
  
Nancy stopped thrusting her fingers so she could sit up and throw a leg over Giselle’s. Before Giselle could complain once more, Nancy was back to thrusting in and out while she straddled Giselle’s thigh.  
  
Nancy matched her finger thrusting with rocking her own hips back and forth. The friction was minimal but sufficient for her aching center, especially given the fact that her wet cunt was finally touching Giselle.  
  
“Nancy — _oh,_ you’re so wet…”  
  
She growled and increased the thrusting of her hips, already so close. She found she had turned herself on just by giving to Giselle — something that was entirely new to her sexual repertoire.  
  
Nancy went back to Giselle’s clit with her thumb in tandem with her fingers thrusting.  
  
“Mmm. Such a good girl you are for me. So responsive.”  
  
Giselle gasped at Nancy’s words. She never felt as…well, _naughty_ before. She felt her hips involuntarily grind into Nancy’s fingers.  
  
“You like that? Do you like when I talk dirty to you? Are you desperate for my fingers to thrust into you?”  
  
Nancy punctuated her last words with a deeper thrust.  
  
“Ohhh, yes! Unnngh Nancy...”  
  
Giselle bit her lip and felt a coil in her lower stomach winding tighter and tighter with each thrust. It was almost painful how tight it was. Hearing Nancy’s smooth voice felt like she was strumming each curve of the coil on the way down.  
  
“Please, Nancy! I need—”  
  
Giselle panted desperately, not really sure what she needed. She needed….  
  
“What is it, honey? What do you need? I can feel you getting closer. Are you going to be good for me and come?”  
  
Giselle pushed aside her confusion at Nancy’s wording. She’d figure that one out later. She needed—  
  
“More! I need more!”  
  
Giselle was finally able to get out.  
  
“I see.”  
  
Nancy hummed. She leaned down over Giselle’s body, not breaking the pace she had set. She laid her body flat against Giselle until her lips were next to her ear.  
  
“All you had to do was ask.”  
  
She whispered in Giselle’s ear. She took Giselle’s earlobe between her teeth and sucked hard. Nancy paused her thrusting deep in Giselle and curled her fingers.  
  
Giselle moaned when he could feel Nancy move inside her. Nancy increased the pressure and pace of her thumb on Giselle’s clit feeling the tell tale sign of fluttering around her fingers.  
  
Nancy relinquished the lobe in her mouth and continued to whisper in Giselle’s ear.  
  
“That’s right baby. You’re so close I can feel you ready to come all over my fingers like a good girl.”  
  
Later when Giselle thought back on that night, she wouldn’t be able to pinpoint exactly what did it. But if she had to guess, Nancy speaking directly in her ear was probably it.  
  
Giselle felt a burst of energy emanating from her core. She heard a faraway cry that almost sounded like keening before she realized it was a prolonged moan coming from her own mouth.  
  
Giselle felt her body shaking and rocking while Nancy brought her down gently from the high. She softly stroked Giselle’s sensitive core while pressing gentle kisses to her neck and cheek.  
  
When Giselle stopped shaking Nancy stilled inside of her. Both heaving for breath.  
  
“How was that, honey?”  
  
Giselle just moaned in response and Nancy laughed.  
  
“Finally, I have rendered you speechless.”  
  
Giselle huffed a laugh. “That was amazing.”  
  
“Glad you enjoyed it.” Nancy slowly removed her fingers with a whimper from Giselle. “Would you mind if I finished too?”  
  
“Of course. What do I need to do?” Giselle tried to sit up but her arms felt like noodles.  
  
“Hang on there, tiger. You’ll get your turn. How about you watch me and recover?”  
  
Giselle just nodded and watched as Nancy sat back up.  
  
Nancy braced herself on Giselle’s hip while she took the same fingers that had just been in Giselle and rubbed the wetness on her nipple.  
  
Giselle’s eyes widened at the sight and bit her lip that was swollen from all the worrying she had been doing to it. Nancy noticed.  
  
“Does that turn you on?” Nancy ran her thumb over Giselle’s lip gently as she began rocking on Giselle’s thigh once more.  
  
“What does ‘turn on’ mean?”  
  
Nancy chuckled as she tweaked her nipple once more, her eyes fluttering, “It means you get aroused.”  
  
“Oh. Then yes. It turns me on.”  
  
Giselle tried out the phrase. “And what does it mean to come?”  
  
“It’s when you are so turned on that you orgasm — a flash of intense pleasure. Like you just had.” Nancy opened her eyes and pinned Giselle with her gaze. “All over my fingers.”  
  
She slowly extended two fingers, still glistening with Giselle’s come, back toward her lover’s lips. Giselle exhaled sharply when she felt the intensity in Nancy’s voice and saw it in her eyes, flicking her own down to stare in wonder and her still soaked fingers. Just then, Giselle got the inexplicable urge to suck her own essence off of Nancy’s fingers. And that, to Nancy’s utter satisfaction, she did. Not only that, but Giselle made quite the show of sucking her long fingers while looking directly into Nancy’s eyes.  
  
_Innocent, my ass._  
  
Nancy could feel herself getting closer already. Seeing Giselle beneath her all sex rumpled and curious drove Nancy crazy. She tweaked her nipple one more time before she drifted her hand down her body. She was watching Giselle’s gaze drop with her hand. It was exhilarating. She moved her fingers down to her clit and groaned at the absolutely soaking pussy she found there. Just a simple brush and her arousal flung her miles towards the edge. Her eyes fell closed as she lost herself in the rhythm. Nancy was sprinting towards the finish line when she felt Giselle’s light touch dance across her nipples.  
  
Nancy’s eyes shot open to see Giselle flush and panting.  
  
“Do you like this?” The small voice beneath her tried.  
  
Nancy groaned. How did she get so lucky?  
  
“Oh _God_ , yes.”  
  
Giselle continued playing with the nipples above her enjoying the sounds coming from Nancy and feeling her aching center flutter once more.  
  
Nancy began to increase her pace, and Giselle decided she couldn’t wait any longer — she had to find out if Nancy tasted even better than she did. So, she carefully reached up and swiped a finger of her unoccupied hand through Nancy’s folds, bringing her finger quickly to her lips and sighing, “Mmmm...Nancy — oh you taste wonderful.”  
  
When Nancy was able to process what had just happened, her jaw hit the floor. And that was it.  
  
“Oh yeah, baby. Don’t stop! Right there! Just like that! Oh fuck, Giselle!”  
  
Nancy’s body arched back and her whole body stiffened as her orgasm tore through her with a crackling moan. Giselle’s hands couldn’t reach Nancy’s breasts anymore, so she let them run down to Nancy’s hips. There, she gently stroked Nancy’s tight muscles as she came down.  
  
Soon after, Nancy fell down on the bed next to Giselle who rolled onto her side.  
  
“How was that, honey?” Giselle shot at Nancy with a smile.  
  
Nancy smirked back lazily.  
  
“Best I’ve had since…well, I can’t honestly remember ever having one that good.”  
  
“Well, I had no idea True Love could have such wonderful bonuses.”  
  
“Yea and you haven’t even felt my tongue on your pussy yet.”  
  
Giselle sat up and looked down at Nancy in shock.  
  
“You can use our mouth?! That’s amazing! I want to try!”  
  
Giselle started to scoot down Nancy’s body but Nancy caught her hands and tugged.  
  
“Maybe some other time. I need a rest.”  
  
“But I’m not tired! I have so much to learn!”  
  
Nancy looked up at Giselle gauging her mood. She was peering at Nancy through tousled, long auburn locks and indeed seemed eager to learn and to please Nancy. Was Nancy going to turn down good head from her beautiful True Love? She would be a fool.  
  
“Well, okay. You don’t have to twist my arm.”  
  
Giselle squeaked in joy and was about to scoot down once more.  
  
“But first let me get some water. I have a feeling I’m going to need to hydrate tonight.”  
  
She was right. They spent all night exploring each other’s bodies and bringing each other to climax over and over again.  
  
They lost count somewhere around eight — _apiece_.  
  
It wasn’t until Nancy saw the light of a new day creeping into her room beneath her heavy curtains that she finally begged.  
  
“Honey? Do you see that?”  
  
Giselle stopped kissing Nancy’s jaw to look at where she was pointing.  
  
“Yes?”  
  
Giselle leaned back in to continue kissing down Nancy’s neck that was now covered in hickies.  
  
“That is sunlight. That means it is now morning. I need sleep. Please let me sleep. I don’t know how much longer I can go.”  
  
Nancy begged Giselle who popped up on her forearms looking down at the love of her life. She could see how tired and sated Nancy truly was and took pity.  
  
“Okay fine. But I expect you fully recovered by tonight,” she warned, pointing directly in her lover’s face.  
  
Giselle grabbed Nancy’s arm and pulled it with her as she rolled over. Nancy snuggled into Giselle’s back with a sigh.  
  
“What’s tonight, honey?”  
  
Giselle felt herself drifting off toward sleep but managed to mumble.  
  
“The beginning of the rest of our lives together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always I would like to thank my editor and girlfriend, @Erica_Bain, for sticking with me on this and everything else. This was literally made for her and she really kept me going to finish it. As always comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism and comments are always appreciated!


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